CityLab Garners National Honor
Boston University School of Medicine’s CityLab program was cited by the Center for Excellence in Education as an exemplary program at the National Labs Skills Symposium in Washington, DC. CityLab is a biotechnology learning laboratory for students in grades 7 – 12 and their teachers.
Established in 1992, BUSM CityLab is an innovative, laboratory-based science education outreach program that has been replicated across the country. CityLab’s mission is to provide access to state-of-the-art biotechnology laboratory facilities and curriculum that are often unavailable to school systems. Teachers from Massachusetts and neighboring states bring their students to CityLab where they solve problems by applying the techniques and concepts of genetics and molecular biology that are used in research laboratories today.
Founder of CityLab, Carl Franzblau,PhD, explains, “I am particularly pleased with this recognition. It is clearly the culmination of the effort of our outstanding team of colleagues throughout the years. An award such as this gives us the confidence and drive to move CityLab to the next level. Our future programs promise to be as exciting as those developed in the past. We are honored by the Center for Excellence in Education’s recognition of CityLab.”
More than 100,000 students have participated in hands-on, discovery-oriented investigations and 2,000 teachers have attended workshops at CityLab or aboard the MobileLab. According to CityLab’s Director of Research Carla Romney, DSc, “CityLab promotes access to the biomedical sciences for all students.” Approximately a quarter of the students are members of minority groups and over half of the students are female. CityLab’s curriculum supplements have been adopted for use by museums, schools and enrichment programs world-wide.
“We are thrilled that BUSM’s CityLab has been recognized by the Center for Excellence in Education. Our program is model for many programs across the US that allow middle and high school students and teachers to deepen their understanding of science through laboratory-based investigations in molecular biology using an inquiry-based approach,” said Donald DeRosa, EdD, CityLab Director