We Are Oaklandish: Ahmed Muhammad & Kits Cubed

Oaklandish is proud to collaborate with Ahmed Mohammad and Kits Cubed! 

Kits Cubed is a youth-led, nonprofit organization on a mission to ignite every Oakland child’s scientific imagination. Kits Cubed was born from a moment of inspiration when Ahmed wanted to encourage his young niece Ayla and nephew Ahmeer after they expressed, “I don’t like science. I’m not good at it.” Determined to spark their curiosity, Ahmed took them into the backyard and guided them through their very first science experiment.

Together they filled a cup with water, then poured in some oil, placed some leaves inside, and sealed the top. A couple of hours later, droplets of water appeared on the glass jar. There was only one explanation for how the water escaped the oil. The scientific conclusion was that plants breathed out the water by releasing condensation through their leaves.

Next up were pop rockets. Ahmed found some empty film canisters and filled them with water. He drew an outline of rocket fins and a nose on cardboard for his niece and nephew to color and cut. When the rockets were ready, he dropped an Alka-Seltzer tablet in each and closed the lid. A few moments later the rockets exploded and flew towards the sky. 

Ahmed’s niece and nephew were over the moon excited. Their enthusiasm filled his heart and motivated him to try and get more kids excited about science. Ahmed had some extra time on his hands during the pandemic quarantine and decided to use it to launch Kits Cubed. 

Ahmed spent his small savings on simple science experiment materials and assembled kits he could mail to kids. They each contained hard-to-find ingredients and an instruction manual. He subsequently donated sixty kits to students at Piedmont Avenue Elementary and then started to do community outreach to raise funds to buy more kits for kids who couldn’t afford to buy them.

Kits Cubed has since donated over 2,000 science kits to Oakland schools and Ahmed plans to keep going until every Bay Area elementary student is introduced to the wonders of science.

Ahmed wants the science and math professions to be more inclusive of African Americans. “Something is going on where we’re being discouraged from science and math,” Ahmed said. “There are so many layers to it. One, we don’t have access to science early on. We aren’t being inspired by science. Also, there are not enough Black teachers. I had one Black teacher in the first grade and one Black teacher in high school.”

Ahmed is the kind of student for whom a 4.0 GPA is the starting point and science is his favorite subject. When he was in elementary school, he participated in summer and afterschool science programs that provided him invaluable early exposure to hands-on science learning. These programs nurtured what will likely be a lifelong passion for science. 

In high school, Ahmed enrolled in every science and math class on offer as well as taking several college-level courses during his senior year. Ahmed was Oakland Tech’s senior class valedictorian, the first African-American male to receive this honor in the school’s 107-year history.

In 2020, Oaklandish collaborated with Ahmed to create and sell two science kits in our online store. Funds from the sale of these kits were used to make more Kits Cubed science kits to be donated to Oakland elementary schools. 

Today, Kits Cubed runs year-round programming in Oakland––after school programs, summer camps, field trips, and community engagement events––to engage students with science in as many ways as possible. On Saturday, September 12th, Kits Cubed will host its 6th Annual STEM Fair at Oakland Technical High School.The event is free and brings together dozens of local science and educational institutions to bring resources directly to students for a day of fun and discovery.

Oaklandish is donating a portion of proceeds from the sale of this t-shirt to Kits Cubed to help Ahmed continue to spark and spread a passion for science among more of Oakland’s youth.

We’re thrilled to be continuing our collaboration with Ahmed to ensure science is celebrated in our community and to show Black youth that science can be an inspirational part of their lives.  

Learn more: Kits Cubed

Shop the collection: Hometown

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Oakland is diverse and Oakland is proud. 'We Are Oaklandish' is a storytelling project created to highlight just that.

These are stories that shed light on the different experiences, memories, and opinions of the people in the city we all love. They are people who give our city its oddball spirit, its passion for justice, and its creative vigor. They lift us up with laughter, peace, nourishment, and authentic hard work.

They make us proud to call this town our home. They are Oaklandish.

Read more: We Are Oaklandish