Summer time is science time at Walker Playground in Mattapan, where Mothers for Justice and Equality (MJE) sponsor a drop-in science-related program for young people that is overseen by MJE members and youth peer leaders.

The program runs from noon to 2 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays, with the fourth session just completed on Aug. 2. They will continue through next week showing kids simple science experiments and showing that the park is a safe place for mothers to bring children and for youth summer camps to visit.

“Today, we are making ice cream and that’s because we’re observing how adding salt lowers the freezing point,” said STEM Director Cici Yang, as temperatures soared to near 100 degrees. “They’re having fun, eating homemade ice cream, and learning about science.”

MJE Board Clerk Eileen Paterson said it’s important to be able to have such activities in the park that are fun and a learning experience for everyone.

“This year we were surprised because we had quite a few children with special needs and it was amazing how we were able to work with them and include them in the experiments,” she said.

Added outreach coordinator Aretha Maugé: “This gives the kids something to do when they visit the park. With some of the violence that happened in the last eight months, kids were skeptical, but we’re out here teaching science, doing walks with the seniors, and letting people know it’s safe to come to the park.”

Yang and Operations Manager Tyler Stewart said they will have new experiments each time they come out to the park and will have Peer Leaders from MJE available to assist with the science lessons. The program is free to all and no reservations are needed.

Monalisa Smith formed MJE in 2010 following the murder of a family member in an act of street violence. Leaving her corporate job, she eventually developed MJE into a large organization offering all types of services to mothers and fathers. Located at 1017 River St., MJE aims to end neighborhood violence by empowering mothers and youth to challenge the normalization of violence – with their trademark, “It’s not OK” slogan.