YOURS Mentorship Program

Our mentorship program not only taught students core concepts of science, but also emphasized our 2015 project. Each week, we crafted a hands-on modular lesson which built upon scientific principles introduced in previous lesson. We showcased the direct application of synthetic biology in the world around us by explaining how each concept could be used to combat bacterial coldwater disease in salmon. We began with basic biology lab techniques, progressed to learning about proteins and the cell, and culminated our seven week program with a visit to a fish hatchery.

Many of our mentees are not exposed as often to science in the classroom as Cornell iGEM students were during their own childhoods. But, limited access to science did not stop the local elementary students from . We were inspired by the curiosity, creativity, and tenacity of these students as they strove to learn as much as possible about the world around them. We mentored local students, but they taught us that the beauty of science truly lies within the messy yet fun aspects of scientific experimentation.

Below is a general outline of the 7-week lesson plans during our collaboration with YOURS.

Every lesson began with a mentor-mentee game and recap of the last week.

The mentees were also given this survey at the beginning and end of the program.

Quotes from our YOURS students before and after the outreach program

Before: What is synthetic biology? “living..something.” - Jessica

After: “Biology is a really cool thing to learn.” - Jessica
“You need DNA to keep yourself going.” - Jess
“DNA is what you are made of.” - Nora
“I like to experiment!” -Nikki

Community/Student Education

ENGRG 1050 : Our team conducts a series of presentations targeting students in introductory engineering seminars (ENGRG 1050) to introduce them to synthetic biology. These seminars are a mandatory course for all freshman engineering students at Cornell, and thus is a great way to expose potential future participants to how rewarding the Cornell iGEM experience can be. We touch upon our projects in the past and discuss the multidisciplinary focus placed upon our designs over the past years. In doing so, we emphasize the integral role of various fields of engineering as well as synthetic biology in providing comprehensive solutions to real-world problems.

Lab Tours: Cornell iGEM is always eager to share our lab experiences with members of the community, and to this end has offered a series of educational lab tours. We invite underprivileged incoming Cornell freshman through the Pre-Freshman Summer Program (PSP) as well as local Ithaca High School female students interested in pursuing engineering to come visit our lab space. During the tours, we teach students how to get involved in research as Cornell undergraduates.

Ithaca Sciencenter’s “Building with Biology”: This year we volunteered at a Sciencenter event which is part of a series of Building with Biology pilot events being held at 8 science centers across the U.S. iGEM team members helped carry out various activities related to science experiments that were designed to educate visitors of all ages at this event. All the activities were developed by 12 science centers and museums in partnership with scientists (universities, AAAS, Synberc, BioBuilder). We taught kids how to spread plates, demonstrated the possibilities of 3D printing, and simulated rearranging genes with legos. Next year, a kit of activities (selected from this year's materials) will be sent to 200 sites across the country. In fact, the 2015 iGEM competition in late September will showcase the activities.