Summary of Project
It is well documented that schools often lack the resources necessary to
present students and their teachers modern-day, hands-on science,
particularly with human health applications. CityLab, a regional
biotechnology learning laboratory, provides such scientific experiences
for middle and high school students and their teachers. Located in an
urban medical center, CityLab is a partnership of scientists and educators
at Boston University with greater Boston high school teachers. CityLab has
state of the art equipment, four full time teachers and scientists
providing laboratory opportunities for students and teachers on a daily
basis. Since its 1992 inception, more than 20,000 students, 1/3 of whom
are minorities, and 1/2 of whom are women, have used CityLab. This year,
both CityLab and the MobileLab have been completely booked since Sept.
12/99. Seven problem-based laboratory modules are fully operable. The next
SEPA phase has two goals in addition to maintenance of the present CityLab
program: one is the development of a CityLab Scholars program, including
the remodeling of the CityLab Academy; and the second is the on-going
dissemination and evaluation of our programs. Above all, one needs to
maintain the extremely successful CityLab program already in place. As
part of this endeavor, we will address the unique MobileLab, an extension
of BUSM CityLab, created with the help of SEPA funds. Different modes of
MobileLab use will be explored. One of the dilemmas we face at CityLab is
the lack of continuity that we have with our student visitors. In the
beginning, we had to make a choice: do we allow several thousand students
annually to partake in CityLab or do we allow relatively few students the
opportunities CityLab has to offer but in greater depth? We chose the
former, but we believe both are very valuable approaches. With the
introduction of our Scholars Program in this grant, we believe we can
offer both modalities. We plan to identify a subset of CityLab
participants who will qualify as CityLab Scholars. These Scholars will
participate in a well-structured program pathway, maintaining a continuity
that will hopefully stimulate them to pursue a bioscience career. Summer
Camp, research projects, assistantships, and counseling are all part of
the Scholars Program designed to keep the students committed from their
sophomore through their senior year. During the next three years, CityLab
will continue and expand its biotechnology offerings to its community of
students and teachers.
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