Community Engaged Learning as part of Senior Research Seminar and Chemistry and Biochemistry Club Activities

ABSTRACT

The Outreach Program involves Community -engaged Learning that seeks to involve both the classroom and the Christian Brothers University (CBU) biochemistry and chemistry clubs in our K-12 education focused activities. These activities include a regional science fair for middle and high school students, the Chemistry Olympiad local and national competitions, and a summer outreach program for K-5 children who were recent immigrants from war-torn areas of Africa. Students in a seniorlevel research seminar class had an opportunity to put their skills to use by assisting in the judging of research projects conducted by grades 6, 7, and 8 students in our middle school fair which was affiliated with the Broadcom Masters national competition. Students in both the biochemistry and chemistry clubs and the research class have assisted with both the middle school and high school fairs by setting up tables for the presenting students and serving as information guides for the middle and high school students and their parents and teachers who came to our CBU campus to participate in the fairs prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. The assistance of our students from the research course and the clubs has enabled us to allow area students from public, private, and home-school to compete in the fairs at no charge to them or their parents or schools. Students from the biochemistry and chemistry clubs also helped by serving as information guides at the Chemistry Olympiad competitions and preparing the lab for the practical experimental section of the National Chemistry Olympiad Exam. These programs are resuming this spring with In-person only fairs and Chemistry Olympiad competitions with active participation by our students. Also prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, students from the biochemistry and chemistry clubs participated in the summer enrichment programs outside CBU for children of recent immigrants from Africa. These programs focused on a variety of STEM related activities related to chemistry, weather, geology, and fractals.Copyright © 2023 The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.