Integrating Science and Bioengineering Concepts into Atlanta Area Schools
The Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB) is the core for community outreach activities relating to bioengineering and bioscience. The IBB education outreach program began under GTEC, with Prosthetic Pete in 1999 and has grown to include the annual Buzz on Biotechnology Open House as well visits to area schools, including science fair judging, the Morehouse Medical Post program and, of course, Prosthetic Pete. In addition to these activities, IBB hosts tours, and our student group educational committee makes periodic visits to local area high schools and middle schools to do demonstration. Listed below are just a few of the activities organized and supported by IBB.
Buzz on Biotechnology — High School Open House
A science fair open house held each fall on a Saturday. It is organized by graduate students to encourage high school students to indulge in their scientific curiosity.
Biotechnology Middle School Camp
This one-week camp is for rising eighth and ninth graders. The camp is typically held in June and the focus each year shifts from neuroscience, cardiovascular, and pharmaceuticals.
Camp Goals:
To connect biomedical research to real life health concerns as well as to demonstrate the integration of science, engineering and medicine disciplines.
The camp curriculum is organized around problem-solving modules that incorporate hands-on activities and lectures. The camp activities are intended to help the students develop fundamental skills, such as problem solving, the ability to organize information, the practical application of concepts, as well as fundamental lab skills and research procedures.
Additionally, in an effort to better prepare camp participants for success in school, the camp curriculum purposefully addresses several of the Performance Learning Standards for seventh and eighth grade students as outlined in the science curriculum for the State of Georgia.
Registration is handled through CEISMC
Biotechnology Education Toolboxes (BETs)
The biotechnology camp curriculum will be translated into learning modules or portable units that can be used in any classroom and taught either as a full one-week long academic enrichment activity like the biotechnology camp or the modules can be used as individual lessons to supplement the classroom environment.
IBB hosts a training program, just prior to the middle school camp, which is piloted with a core group of teachers from the highly diverse DeKalb County School System. The core teachers are trained on various scientific techniques and equipment. Lastly, the core group of teachers will then provide training to teachers at the local level so that they are equipped with the knowledge necessary to teach the biotechnology modules and use the kits in their classrooms. Funding has been granted from the DeKalb County Development Authority to be used to support the development of the kits and curriculum for the teacher training, with IBB being responsible for the administration of the program.
Prosthetic Pete Demonstration
An interactive display with mechanical devices for replacements and improvements in the body, plus descriptions of tissue engineered replacements being developed. This initiative enables K-12 students to learn about the possibilities available to them in college curriculums and it enables K-12 teachers opportunities to enhance their classroom teaching. For more information about scheduling Prosthetic Pete in classrooms, contact us.