High School Outreach

Our Vision for the High School Division of iGEM

We believe that the high school division of iGEM has vast potential to revolutionize current approaches to science education in high school. Unfortunately, much of the perceived tediousness and rote memorization that defines many high school science classes is discouraging interest in up-and-coming scientific fields. iGEM, with its hands-on approach, could spark an exponential jump in enthusiasm among high school students' interest in the natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics.
Currently, the high school division of iGEM is centralized to the American midwest, with sparse involvement from other regions. We aim to challenge this current predicament by introducing the emerging field of synthetic biology to high schools across the state of Arizona to spur curiosity towards the field and allow high school students to get involved in cutting-edge research opportunities.
Our vision for the future of the high school division involves a multitude of high schools across Arizona participating in the iGEM competition and spreading the competition to nearby states to transform the high school competition into one that spans the entire United States and possibly the world.

June 1, 2011

ASU iGEM decided to participate in the School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering Summer Intern Program by hosting a high school senior, Juan Padilla, from Bioscience High School.
The team mentored Juan throughout the summer as he helped contribute to our team project.
Juan was able to gain a strong handle on molecular biology lab techniques and gain a solid foundation on the CRISPR-Cas system.
At the end of the summer, Juan gave a presentation detailing his experience with ASU iGEM to the School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering.

August 12, 2011:

First outreach meeting with Bioscience High School, our first high school partner.
We presented our Exploring Synthetic Biology curriculum to a Biotechnology class and encouraged them to start their own iGEM team.
Bioscience High School has started their own high school iGEM team for the high school division!

September 12, 2011:

September 26, 2011:

Second meeting with Bioscience High School.
Met with their iGEM team and advisor and introduced more basics of synthetic biology, the Registry of Standard Biological Parts, and restriction and ligation techniques.
Gave the team advice and feedback on their project and introduced resources they can use to get started.

September 17, 2011:

First outreach meeting with an Honors and AP Biology class at Cienega High School in Tucson!
Introduction to Synthetic Biology and its applications, bacterial genetics, and basic lab techniques.

July 25, 2011

Discussion with Biotechnology staff at Hamilton High School about setting up an iGEM team at HHS.

September 27, 2011

Set up official collaboration between ASU iGEM and Hamilton High School Biotechnology.

September 27, 2011

Set up official collaboration between ASU iGEM and Desert Vista High School Biotechnology. First scheduled visit: October 21st.

September 28, 2011

Set up official collaboration between ASU iGEM and Dobson High School Biotechnology. First scheduled visit: October 28th.

MESA is now working with ASU iGEM to support MESA in central Arizona!
Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) is a university-based outreach program operating in 8 states. In Arizona, MESA strives to provide an opportunity for ethnic minority, low income, and first generation college-bound students to explore college majors and career interests with a group of peers interested in attending college.
MESA promotes a strong academic foundation in mathematics and science as the key to college admission and success. Hands-on activities and team competitions focused on mathematics, engineering, and science are highlighted in order to increase students’ confidence in these areas.