Outreach

Kathure Mugambi is a senior undergraduate student in Molecular and Cellular Biology. She is also the undergraduate assistant for the IGB Lunchbox series.

Growing up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Kathure Mugambi wanted to be a marine biologist. Even when she was in kindergarten, she would tell everyone about her interest. “I’m not sure if I knew exactly what it was, but I thought it sounded cool,” Mugambi said. Her interest in science stayed with her throughout her life, which led her to join the MCB program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Children are encouraged to follow their interests and think about what they want to be when they grow up. But the scope of the careers they imagine might be limited if they don’t have exposure different possibilities, especially for those less represented in certain fields. In an effort to expose young girls to different career opportunities, Campus Middle School for Girls has been running an event called “Forum Week” since the school’s establishment in 1994.

by Jessica Brinkworth (GNDP/IGOH), Anthropology Professor

Since the inception of the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, its slogan has been “where science meets society.” This highlights the institute’s deep commitment both past and present to communicate the research and discoveries happening at the IGB with the public, and promote scientific thinking to encourage a new diverse generation of scientists and science-informed citizens. “We established a comprehensive outreach program within a few years of opening the IGB, for several reasons,” said IGB Director Gene Robinson (GNDP).

Advances in genomic studies have now permeated all aspects of our lives from agriculture to health and wellness. It is therefore becoming increasingly important to help the community understand these innovations so that they can navigate the increasingly complex realm of genomics. To this end, the outreach team at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology is planning to construct, staff, and operate a mobile STEM lab.

Activities that revolve around science provide children with the opportunity to develop different skills, including communication, problem solving, perseverance, and learning to work in teams. The Pollen Power camp, started in 2013, targets students from underrepresented populations in STEM and teaches them to observe the world around them with a scientific mindset.

When one imagines what 6th-8th grade students might be interested in, these projects may not immediately come to mind: studying metabolism in the Minecraft universe, investigating whether toxic frogs know they are toxic, printing 3D corals, building a robot that can deliver snacks or one that can plant seeds, and designing an anti-drone weapons device. And yet, these six studies were successfully completed by students from Franklin STEAM Academy.

Starting from September 2020, six groups of 38 students from Franklin STEAM Academy in Champaign met every Tuesday afternoon after school to conduct research on important topics. The project, called “STEAM TRAIN,” involved the 6th-8th grade students, researchers from the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, and a dozen students from University Laboratory High School, or Uni High. The projects concluded in May 2021.

Every Tuesday afternoon after school, six groups of around 24 excited Franklin STEAM Academy students hang around online a bit longer to conduct independent research on topics of import to them via a scientific exploration project called “STEAM TRAIN.” Mentoring the 6th–8th grade students are some near peers—Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB) undergrads, grad students, and post docs, plus—even closer in age to the target group—a dozen University Laboratory High School (Uni High) students.

This year, the STEAM TRAIN (Transdisciplinary Research Across Institutional Near-Peers) project conceived by the IGB outreach staff was one of five projects awarded seed funding and up to two years of subsequent support from the Community + Research Partnership Program (CO+RE). The CO+RE grant represents the first awarded grant for outreach endeavors at the IGB.