Thousands of families are expected to descend on Oakland Technical High School Saturday for a free science fair that started six years ago as one teenager's attempt to convince his niece and nephew that science wasn't boring. The 6th Annual Kits Cubed STEM Fair runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and includes interactive science activities, guest scientists, free science kits, games, surprises and raffles, according to the organization's Instagram.
The nonprofit behind it, Kits Cubed, was founded by Ahmed Muhammad, an Oakland Technical High School alumnus who launched the organization in 2020, as reported by KTVU FOX 2. Muhammad has said his mission was to create and donate science kits to schools, with the goal of igniting the inner scientist in every child and cultivating a passion for learning, according to the same report. Kits Cubed has since given away more than 50,000 science kits to children in Oakland and beyond, per KTVU.
A Backyard Experiment That Became a Movement
The spark for Kits Cubed came from something much smaller than a citywide fair. In 2020, Muhammad was babysitting his eight-year-old niece Ayla and six-year-old nephew Ahmeer, who told him they hated science, according to CBS News. That reaction pushed him to assemble simple backyard experiments like Alka-Seltzer pop rockets and leaf condensation jars during pandemic quarantine, the outlet reported, using free time created by lockdown to mail out his first kits.
Those first 60 hand-assembled kits went to students at Oakland's Piedmont Avenue Elementary School, where the response from students and parents was strong enough that the principal secured a $10,000 grant to buy more, per the CBS News account. Each kit sold online for roughly $15 and included materials for three hands-on experiments, the station noted. Kits Cubed has since launched other programming, including the Inventors Lab, a six-week summer science camp that taught computer-aided design, electronics and programming, and provided free meals to participants.
From Oakland Tech Valedictorian to Stanford Graduate
Muhammad's own academic path has run in parallel with the nonprofit's growth. In May 2021, he graduated as valedictorian of Oakland Technical High School, becoming the first Black male valedictorian in the school's 106-year history with a 4.73 GPA and admission offers from 11 top universities including Harvard, Princeton and Stanford, according to SFGATE. His graduation speech, in which he said he would be the first Black male valedictorian but not the last, went viral at the time, the outlet reported.
Muhammad completed his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering at Stanford in June 2025 before continuing into a five-year coterminal program to pursue a master's degree, according to a report from KTVU at the time. Per KTVU's more recent reporting tied to Saturday's fair, Muhammad is currently pursuing that master's degree while continuing to lead Kits Cubed.
Expanding Reach Across East Bay Classrooms
Kits Cubed's growth hasn't stopped at kits and camps. In June 2025, the organization launched STEM Adventures, bringing more than 700 elementary students from Oakland public schools, including Reach Academy, Oakland Academy of Knowledge and Brookfield Elementary, on free trips to the California Academy of Sciences, according to Kits Cubed's own event listings. From March to May 2025, the nonprofit also ran The Energy Lab, a free 10-week after-school program at Oakland Academy of Knowledge that taught fourth- and fifth-graders about renewable energy through experiments with wind turbines and water density, the organization says.
That growth has come with institutional backing. The Golden State Warriors Community Foundation has supported Kits Cubed, according to KTVU. Saturday's fair is held in partnership with the Chabot Space and Science Center, California Life Sciences, and the Lawrence Hall of Science, expanding on a coalition that grew last year to include local nonprofit Heads Up alongside the Warriors and Oakland Technical High School.
Why the Free Programming Matters in Oakland
The push for accessible science education lands against a backdrop of concerns about student achievement. Science and math performance are part of that broader context.
That context underscores the value of free, community-driven efforts like Kits Cubed's fair, which aims to give Oakland kids hands-on science experiences regardless of what their schools can offer.
