<![CDATA[Scientific literacy is an essential skill that should be cultivated from junior high school age so that students can understand natural phenomena around them, think critically, and avoid merely memorizing science concepts textually. However, science instruction in many junior high schools remains centered on lectures and textbook memorization without direct experimental experience, making it difficult for students to connect abstract scientific concepts with real-life phenomena and leaving their curiosity toward science insufficiently supported. This community service activity aimed to develop science concept understanding and curiosity among junior high school students through mentoring in contextual science experiments. The “Fun Science Learning” program was held on 6 July 2026 at SMP Sabir, Bireuen Regency, with seven seventh-grade students over 120 minutes in a single session. It consisted of simple electricity experiments (closed and open circuits, series and parallel circuits, conductor and insulator tests, and a mini traffic-light project) using a predict-observe-explain (POE) cycle. The method comprised preparation, socialization and education, experimentation and exploration, and evaluation and reflection through pre-test and post-test analyzed descriptively, observation of student engagement, and teacher feedback. The mean of the three science-understanding and process-skill aspects rose from 53.2 to 80.7 (a difference of 27.5 points), with the largest difference in explaining experimental results (29.5 points), while the separately measured curiosity and enthusiasm score rose from 66.0 to 91.5. Because the number of participants was very small and there was no comparison group, the results describe changes among the participants and are not intended to be generalized. A contextual, learning-by-doing experimental approach with a POE cycle merits consideration as an alternative for mentoring science learning in junior high schools.]]>
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