Prime Factors Lab

We are a community-led STEM nonprofit focused on building technical depth in communities that are often excluded from cutting-edge STEM and media. Our programs are nimble, community-based, and centered on peer-to-peer learning, giving students ownership over advanced technical work.

With youth and adults in the Greater Newark community, we explore the technology around us. Together, we learn how things work, how to create as well as how to fix what's broken.

Core Principles

Community-Rooted Projects

Learning through local impact

Through real-world projects, participants develop practical concepts and skills to address local challenges.

Students working on community mapping project

Social-Emotional Learning

Building whole learners

Success in STEM and media requires not just technical skills but also working together, communicating, and understanding emotions.

Student-Teacher Pipelines

From student to teacher to leader

Program alumni return as paid peer teachers, creating a sustainable local teacher pipeline. This peer-to-peer model fosters a cycle of learning and empowerment within the community.

Focus Areas

Engineering

Coding • AI • Robotics

Media

Podcasting • Audio/Video Production • Arts

Mathematics

Foundations • Algebra • Problem-Solving

Directors

Grew up learning together and making plays. Never stopped.

Emmanuel Larose

ProgramsOperationsPartnerships

After attending the University of South Carolina and earning his MBA, Emmanuel returned to New Jersey to work at a startup. He now builds an organization and works with young people, teaching and empowering the next generation.

Elliot Ikheloa

CurriculumTrainingTechnology

Elliot studied at Harvard, worked as a business consultant, and served as chief of staff at a high school. He joined the founding team in a Bay Area tech company. He is now happy to channel his love for learning into community-based education efforts.