Even on a Saturday, it's not surprising to find dedicated scientists hunched over microscopes in Northwestern University's Searle Medical Research Building, oblivious to the attractions of Lake Michigan and the Magnificent Mile, both just steps away on Chicago's near north side.
What may be surprising are some of the faces behind the microscopes: a dozen or so teenagers, mostly Hispanic and African-American, who, on the remaining days of the week, live a world away in that other Chicago, the Chicago of struggling public schools and limited opportunities.
How these teens have come to spend their Saturdays using sophisticated lab equipment under the close direction of graduate students in medicine and molecular biology is the story of "Science Scene," a unique mentoring program run by the Medical School and the Chicago Academy of Sciences, with the participation of the Chicago Housing Authority and other community and scientific organizations.
Robert D. Goldman, chair of the department of cell and molecular biology at Northwestern's Medical School, and Jon Miller, director of the International Center for the Advancement of Scientific Literacy at the Chicago Academy of Sciences, combined forces five years ago to begin a hands-on educational outreach program in biology, ecology and the physical sciences geared to Chicago public school students in "at risk" neighborhoods. In September 1993 the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which supports innovative programs that can become national models, funded a five-year proposal to implement their idea, and "Science Scene" was born.
Although the Academy of Sciences, which is funded through the Chicago Park District, had operated earlier outreach programs, the new mentoring program was noteworthy because it added the resources of a major research university to those of the community.
"Chicago is the perfect place for this kind of program," said Goldman. "By combining the resources of a private medical school with the local science museum, we can turn kids on to science. And our graduate students get a chance for public service and hands-on teaching experience."
At the heart of "Science Scene" is a mentoring network that moves in several directions at once. For two Saturdays every month, high school students selected by a community board team up with graduate student mentors at Northwestern. Each graduate student works with two teens on a year-long research project in the graduate student's area of expertise. The Northwestern students, who in many instances are themselves underrepresented minorities, serve as both role models and teachers.
On alternate Saturdays, and in a summer camp program, the teens act as mentors, working at the Nature Museum of the Chicago Academy of Sciences as guides and teaching science to children in grades 5 through 8. The teaching is serious business -- the teens are required to develop lesson plans and practice their presentations.
The mentoring experience benefits both the teens and the graduate students in similar ways. Participants say that teaching a subject helps them understand it better themselves, and all seem pleased to have the opportunity "to give something back" to the community.
Reynold "Coco" Lopez-Soler, a Northwestern graduate student in cell and molecular biology who is working toward simultaneous M.D. and Ph.D. degrees, knows first-hand the value of mentoring. Lopez-Soler, who grew up in Puerto Rico, says he might never have pursued a career in science if it hadn't been for a mentoring program that brought him to M.I.T. for a summer of study. "I feel I can show them it's not out of their reach," said Lopez-Soler. "You have to give back -- there are people waiting to be taught."
On a recent Saturday, Lopez-Soler was doing just that, working closely with high school junior Martha Moreno, who began the program last year as a student at Roberto Clemente High School. Moreno, who speaks Spanish at home with her Mexican-born parents, said she and her mentor sometimes joke in Spanish but spend most of their time speaking the language of science for their project, which involves studying the localization of keratins and nuclear lamins in human breast cells.
The project, which contrasts the expression of protein in cancer cells and normal cells, relates closely to Lopez-Soler's own graduate work on nuclear structure, work that has applications for cancer research. It also provides a forum for Lopez-Soler to instruct Moreno and student Arturo Aguilar in research techniques like immuno-fluorescence, micro-sectioning of tissue samples and confocal microscopy.
Doing real work in a big-time lab excites the teens. "Coming here is really interesting because you use your hands. You understand it better when you do it yourself," commented Moreno, who said her grades went up last year as a result of her involvement in the program. "I wasn't really into science before, but now I am," she added, noting that she's thinking about becoming a veterinarian.
In another lab, Andrea Sanders, a junior at Roald Amundsen High School who is in her second year with "Science Scene," pays close attention as graduate student Tracy Terry-Allison talks her through a procedure. Sanders and student Latisha Joseph have been learning techniques for handling bacterial strains for later cloning. Sanders, who taught at a science camp in Lincoln Park last summer as part of the program, believes "Science Scene" has enhanced her schoolwork: "My high school biology class was crowded. You get a lot more information here, and you're able to remember more."
Terry-Allison, who is just months away from completing her Ph.D. work in virology under the direction of Patricia Spear, chair of the department of microbiology and immunology, has been with the program since its inception and keeps in touch with her earlier proteges. She says she enjoys being a role model--"It gives them something to shoot for" -- and she praises the way "Science Scene" makes science real to the teenagers. "It's wonderful to see people understand an idea for the first time. It's made me more aware of my desire to teach."
Now that "Science Scene" is in its fifth year of operation, Goldman and Miller believe the program has proved its worth. "Their test scores improve, their attitude improves, their achievement in school goes up," said Goldman about the teenage participants. "They learn to feel comfortable in a university setting. Before the program some of them might not have graduated from high school, let alone considered college."
Many of the program's earlier graduates have gone on to college to study science and medicine. "One student won a four-year scholarship to the University of Hawaii to study marine biology," said a pleased Miller. "The odds of his winning this award without the program would have been virtually zero."
But such success does not come easily or cheaply. The teenagers are paid $20 for each Saturday they participate to compensate for time they might have spent working at weekend jobs. The graduate students also receive small stipends. Because of funding limitations, the program can handle only a handful of the students who would like to participate.
"Science Scene" is also limited in scope by the close mentoring system that defines it. "It's a labor-intensive program," admitted Goldman, who said the best way to expand is by packaging the program so that other cities and universities can repeat a proven formula.
Brian T. Shea, a physical anthropologist and evolutionary biologist in the department of cell and molecular biology who has worked with Goldman in running "Science Scene," noted that one of the most successful elements of the program is the way the teens are "hinged" between the older graduate students and the younger children to whom they present and teach science at the academy. Shea believes that this sandwiching of mentors "could easily translate into other fields such as social sciences and humanities. This would serve to expose the teens to potential role models working in various scholarly fields."
(Source Contact: Robert Goldman at 312-503-4215)
(Media Contact: Elizabeth Crown at 312-503-8928)
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