CGM Partners with Boys & Girls Club
Science Club members demonstrate DNA isolation at
the science fair.
Last spring CGM partnered with the McCormick Boys & Girls Club of Chicago in a 10-week pilot “Science Club.” The program, designed by Michael Kennedy, CGM director of educational and research programs, and Carolyn Jahn, associate professor of cell and molecular biology in the Feinberg School of Medicine, was started to broaden CGM’s outreach activities and increase science awareness among middle school students.
The McCormick Boys & Girls Club was an ideal partner for this initiative. Its McCutcheon site is a fixture in the Uptown neighborhood, providing mentoring, tutoring, and opportunities to develop social and leadership skills — although nothing like the Science Club has been done there before. After receiving a call from Kennedy, McCutcheon site director Mike Anderson was eager to add the novel Science Club to his programming.
Armed with periodic tables, molecule kits, and plenty of pipettes, Kennedy, Jahn, and a team of volunteers visited the club every Thursday from April to June, turning the club’s art room into a makeshift lab. The volunteers included Miranda Bernhardt, Julia Jackson MacKenzie, Suzan Hammond, and Rebecca Daugherty, all students in the Integrated Graduate Program in the Life Sciences (IGP), and Lauren Strelec, a program assistant with the club.
Lab activities began with simple introductions to elements, molecules, and genetics and grew more involved. Science Club members eventually learned to isolate DNA from pureed strawberries and to culture bacteria from different areas of the club. Armed with fistfuls of cotton swabs, they swiped keyboards, toilet seats, and the insides of their noses.
Club members were also invited to Northwestern’s campus in late May for a look at science in a real lab. The fieldtrip provided an opportunity for the IGP student volunteers to present their own research and demonstrate techniques and equipment they use as scientists.
After nine weeks in the program, Science Club members had an opportunity to show what they’d learned. They formed small groups and prepared speeches, skits, and colorful posters to present topics of their choice to their families and peers at a science fair. Following presentations by each group, the audience was treated to hands-on demonstrations.
Kennedy, Jahn, and Anderson all thought the Science Club’s pilot project a success. “It allowed the students to see how simple yet complex science could be,” says Anderson. “They’ve been asking about the Science Club for the past few months, and they can’t wait for it to start up again.”
Kennedy and Jahn are looking to ensure that Science Club will be back. With a recently funded grant from Motorola and other proposals submitted, including one to NIH, they look forward to further developing the program at the McCutcheon site and even expanding it to other clubs in Chicago.
