Northwestern Science Club Featured in Northwestern Research Magazine
“Science Club shows the power of what teachers, universities, and youth organizations can do when they come together.” — Michael Kennedy, Science in Society director
Original article by Anne Stein and first featured in Northwestern | Research Magazine.
An award-winning Northwestern program that brings mentored science learning to low-income kids has garnered additional recognition in a new high-profile academic journal. In March, Science Club was featured in the
inaugural issue of Connected Science Learning, a joint initiative of the National Science Teachers Association and the Association of Science-Technology Centers. Michael Kennedy is cofounder of Science Club, which serves middle school youth. He has overseen the blossoming of the program from a single location in Chicago to a multi-site project in Chicago and Evanston, with plans to expand further. The club is an integral project of Science in Society, Northwestern’s interdisciplinary Research Center dedicated to STEM education. Its mission includes public outreach through partnerships with Chicago-area schools and Northwestern Science Club Expanding its Reach in Local Communities. Science Club was developed in partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago and teachers in Chicago Public Schools. During the current academic year about 100 fifth- through eighth-graders have met weekly with Northwestern graduate student scientists at two Science Club sites. In his previous position as director of education and research programs at Northwestern’s Center for Genetic Medicine, Kennedy, like many scientists at the University, regularly hosted public school field trips so students could get a glimpse at an academic lab. “They'd get so excited and ask when they could visit again,” says Kennedy. He thought about more effective ways to reach kids who lacked access to labs at their schools and who didn't have mentors or role models as their academic champions.
14 June 2016