Kindergarten through 12th Grade
We are actively looking for volunteers for this Working Group! Please email Noah Olsman if interested
Early education initiatives are essential for strengthening and diversifying the next generation of scientists. We find this particularly important in encouraging the participation of historically under-represented demographics in STEM fields, whose members provide valuable talent, insight, and passion within the scientific community. We aim to achieve that by exposing children in K-12 age groups to the tools and ideas modern-day scientists use to answer questions of fundamental interest to humanity.
To achieve these goals, we will serve as a centralized up-to-date repository of existing outreach programs, provide an open discussion forum on how to better engage youth, and coordinate efforts to improve teaching and mentorship programs in the HMS Systems Biology Department. A key element to this work will be educating faculty, postdocs, students, and staff on how to make their science accessible to each age group, and how to engage them in a wider conversation about why science matters. We will be focusing on schools and organizations in the greater Boston area and directly connect them to volunteers within the department who will lead educational activities and share their own experiences as scientists.
Mission Statement
Raising awareness within the department about existing outreach opportunities online, and in the Greater Boston Area. This will be mostly done by updating our department webpage with a comprehensive list of initiatives, and sending regular updates and calls for volunteers on behalf of those initiatives.
Liaise with local schools, particularly in our nearest neighborhood Roxbury, to bring more children into the department, and more faculty, graduate students and postdocs into classrooms.
Understand the major hurdles impeding more active outreach within the department so we can address them effectively. This will mostly be done through a comprehensive survey.
Improve our science communication skills with the wider public, and particularly the K-12 age group to make our outreach efforts more effective and science understandable for all age groups. This will be done by arranging workshops with communication specialists and (potentially) a Science Slam encouraging scientists from all over Boston to share their science with the wider public.
Groups We’ve Worked With
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Digital Media Academy
Launched by STEM educators on the campus of Stanford University in 2002, Digital Media Academy is the best place for students to get their start as designers, developers, programmers, engineers, animators, musicians, filmmakers, and creators. The mission of our group is to enable one million educators with technology education to empower one billion students for the future.
Want to get involved or have any questions? Please reach out to our Director of Education, Jamie Turner, at info@digitalmediaacademy.org. -
Model Organism Zoo
Model Organism Zoo is a graduate student organization that develops hands-on and interactive activities to engage K-12 students at community events and in the classroom. We teach fundamental concepts of biology using activities involving worms, flies, zebrafish, and more!
For volunteer opportunities and more information, please reach out to modelorganismzoo@gmail.com, or directly to the program directors, Hasreet Gill (hkgill@g.harvard.edu) and Noel Jackson (noeljackson@g.harvard.edu) -
Skype A Scientist
At Skype a Scientist, we are connecting scientists with classrooms across the globe! Our program hosts a database of thousands of scientists and helps them connect with teachers, classrooms, groups, and the public worldwide. We want to give students the opportunity to get to know a real scientist and get the answers to their questions straight from the source.
Our mission is to make science accessible and fun through personal connections with scientists.
Upcoming live-stream events can be found here. -
The Calculus Project
The Calculus Project is a program that the Department of Systems Biology has partnered with for almost a decade. Students from the group have been coming to HMS during their summer programs. The students are a part of the Boston area branch of the Calculus Project. A nationwide tutoring program initiative to dramatically increase the number of low income, African American, and Hispanic American students enrolled in the disciplines of mathematics, science, and technology.
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Cambridge Math Circle
The Cambridge Math Circle was established in 2018 by math and physics PhD's with a combined 40 years of teaching experience at K-12, undergraduate and graduate levels, to give elementary and middle school students in Cambridge and surrounding towns a chance to experience deep, fascinating math and meet others who like solving puzzles and stretching their minds
Would you like to get involved or have any questions? Please reach out to us at info@cambridgemathcircle.org!
What People Are Saying
“My experience showed me that scientists have a privileged position and a duty as educators. Whether they pursue a scientific career or simply to become well-educated citizens, don't forget that there are students out there struggling to succeed that you could help. Most especially don't ever give up on a student who faces the harshest of circumstances. They need our help most of all, and it could make all the difference in their life.”
— Roger Chang, Associate Lab Director
“I would say it’s really rewarding to help students become citizen scientists. I feel like everybody can be a citizen scientist. I feel like we should, especially in Boston, I feel like with all of the medical and scientific professionals, there should be no student that leaves a Boston Public School System and doesn’t have some sort of a foundation in science. And if we can help make that easier for them and if we can help build a sense of community with them, then I think that we’ll only be making our community a better place. And when we’re talking about you now, how do we recruit a more diverse community and things like this, we can start with the people that live where we work. We’re so close to so many communities that could really use our help in terms of enriching their scientific education.”
—Hailey Cambra, SSQB Graduate Student
“I feel like being a part of these things is kind of my duty in a way, because I need to give back. I’ve been given so much that I feel like I need to pay it forward in a way. I think that can only help our community. Especially at times it feels like we’re cogs in this big machine, and that the little things we do don’t really matter, but you know, I think back on the people that have influenced me and really motivated me and supported me, and they really made such a big difference in my overall trajectory in life. I hope I can give that to other people.”
— Anonymous
Past Members
Doaa Megahed, PhD
Camille Homa, Research Associate
Anastasiya Yakhnina, PhD
Scott Luro, PhD
Seungeun Oh, PhD