When teens thrive,
democracy does too.
The Co:Lab is lab for civic innovation.
We design experiences, weave relationships, and co-create environments that help young people develop their potential and thrive as individuals and in community.
Because a stronger future starts with how teens grow and learn today.
who we are
We exist to design and spread experiential civics.
Experiential civics is teen-centered, community-connected learning in history, arts, and the humanities.
It engages, inspires and enables young people to become curious
learners and contributors to our shared future.
This humanity-oriented approach--leveraging wisdom of the past,
and the science and technologies of today--advances wellbeing, deeper engagement, and civic thriving for all.
Our work sits at the intersection of learning science, history, adolescent development, and systems change, delivered through four core services:
Thought Leadership
Shaping the national and global conversation on civic innovation and teen thriving through publications, keynotes, and public events.
Product
Design
Developing curriculum, games, media products, and training tools that activate belonging, purpose, and agency.
Strategic
Advising
Partnering with schools, museums, foundations, and civic institutions to align strategy, shift practice, and embed the science of adolescent civic thriving.
Convening + Weaving
Bringing leaders together across silos to spark collaboration, build ecosystems, and accelerate scale.
what we do
We work with partners to ensure ALL young people grow up ready for civic engagement.
Thought Leadership
Shaping the national and global conversation on civic innovation and teen thriving through publications, keynotes, and public events.
Product Design
Developing curriculum, games, media products, and training tools that activate belonging, purpose, and agency.
Strategic Advising
Partnering with schools, museums, foundations, and civic institutions to align strategy, shift practice, and embed the science of adolescent civic thriving.
Convening + Weaving
Bringing leaders together across silos to spark collaboration, build ecosystems, and accelerate scale.
We work across classrooms, museums, libraries, neighborhoods, and digital spaces—the environments where teens become who they are—to ensure that civic thriving is built into the experience of adolescence
what we do
We work with partners to ensure ALL young people grow up ready for civic engagement.
Our work sits at the intersection of learning science, history, adolescent development, and systems change, delivered through four core services:
what we do
We work with partners to ensure ALL young people grow up ready for civic engagement.
CLASSROOMS
MUSEUMS
LIBRARIES
PARKS + PUBLIC SPACES
NEIGHBORHOODS
VIRTUAL SPACES
We want to see
all of us thrive.
We design on three levels:
PRODUCT
Curriculum, games, podcasts, and training tools built with teens and grounded in science.
PLACES
Integrated learning ecosystems where institutions align around teen thriving.
PEOPLE
Weave strategic networks to connect leaders,
shift narratives, and build shared momentum
across sectors.
We design on three levels:
PRODUCT
Curriculum, games, podcasts, and training tools
built with teens and grounded in science.
PLACES
Integrated learning ecosystems where
institutions align around teen thriving.
PEOPLE
Weave strategic networks to connect leaders,
shift narratives, and build shared momentum
across sectors.
WHY NOW
Teens are growing up
in a world that doesn't always nurture and appreciate them.
Today’s young people are coming of age in the midst of historic disruptions.
The systems around them—education, mental health, civic life—are disconnected and outdated, and were never designed to positively support adolescent development.
Too often, teens feel anxious, isolated, and unheard. This isn’t just a personal struggle of individual youth.
It’s a civic emergency.
A society that lets its youth grow up without learning how to participate
and exercise agency will lose its democracy.
WHY IT WORKS
Because we trust young people, and we trust what the science tells us.
We start with what theresearch shows.
We build with young people, not for them.
We ground our work in
real communities.
When teens thrive, democracy does too.
Make it stand out.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
“It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.”
— Squarespace