Biology Majors Teach Hands-On Science Lessons to local K-12 Students through the Biology Outreach Course

To increase the love of science among local K-12 students, students in the Department of Biological Sciences course Biology Outreach create hands-on science lessons that they teach to local K-12 students each spring and summer semester. During the 2022 spring semester, 28 students served 224 community service hours by teaching 140 K-12 students at The Boys-and-Girls Club of West Alabama. To celebrate Earth Day 2022, 8 students visited Northridge Middle School and taught 8th grade students about Biomes. During the 2022 summer semester, 22 students served 42 community service hours by teaching 320 K-12 students at The Alberta School for the Performing Arts, the I DREAM BIG summer camps at Southview Elementary and Rock Quarry Elementary, the UA Arboretum (pictured), the UA Rec. Pool, and the Children’s Hands-On Museum of Tuscaloosa. The Biology Outreach course teaches our students how to be effective science communicators while engaging local K-12 students in advanced topics in biology such as conservation, water quality, agriculture, species identification and classification, and personal health while raising awareness about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) undergraduate majors and careers in STEM fields.

Earth Day outreach.
UA students who visited Northridge Middle School to teach 8th grade students about Biomes.
UA students teach about snakes at the Arboretum.
UA students teaching a lesson about the “Snakes of Alabama” at the UA Arboretum.
UA students leading a hike at the UA Arboretum.
UA students leading a hike at the UA Arboretum.