Young 'Gene-iuses' will graduate from science-themed classes
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Associate Professor, CTAHR Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences
Frederika Bain, (808) 956-3092
Writer/editor, CTAHR Office of Communication Services
'Gene-iuses' participants construct models of insects.
Saturday Gene-iuses on a Mission, a College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) educational program for elementary-aged students at UH Mānoa, will celebrate the completion of its first year with a graduation extravaganza for children who attended all seven of its science-themed classes. The event takes place Saturday, June 1, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the Campus Center Ballroom at 2500 Campus Road.
The celebration will feature a graduation ceremony, 14 science experiment stations, photo booths, goodie bags and prize drawings. More than 200 students and their parents attended Saturday Gene-iuses on a Mission classes in the program’s first year. After “Mission Completed," Saturday Gene-iuses programs will break for the summer and resume in September 2013. Registration for these classes will begin in June 2013.
The Biotechnology Outreach Program of CTAHR offers a series of Saturday classes in teaching laboratories on the UHM campus. Students in grades 1-3 and 4-6 engage in exciting activities that encourage scientific thinking and appreciation for all things related to science. “Gene-iuses on a Mission” is a spinoff from the program’s original Gene-ius Day field trips for elementary schools. Each session focuses on a specific science-related theme (DNA, cells, forensics, agriculture, etc.). The program was so successful that a series of Gene-ius workshops was recently begun on Kaua‘i.
A video documenting a recent session is available at the UH System website: http://www.Hawaiʻi.edu/news/2012/12/04/future-scientists-inspired-by-gene-ius-day/.
More information about school visits and Saturday workshops on both O‘ahu and Kaua‘i is available at the program website at http://www.ctahr.Hawaiʻi.edu/geneius-day/saturday.html or by contacting the program’s coordinator, Carol Oshiro, at tranc@hawaii.edu. Reservations for school visits for the 2013-2014 school year are presently being accepted as well.