Houston A+ Blog

Summer Science Internship

The Summer Science Internship is a collaboration of the Houston A+ Challenge and the Baylor College of Medicine Discovery Lab to provide hands-on learning experiences for high school science teachers and their students.

Founded in 2002, the internship is aimed at sparking economically disadvantaged students' interest in science-related careers and developing classroom teachers' understanding of current biomedical research practices and advancements. Students and teachers are paired as teams and work alongside Baylor College of Medicine scientists for the six-week paid internship, which takes place in state-of-the-art research laboratories in Houston's medical center.

To date, 31 teachers and 43 students have participated in the program. Our 2006-07 cohort -- which included 10 student-teacher teams and three teams of students paired with Baylor Graduate students -- was the largest group of participants so far. A complete list of summer 2007 participants and the schools they represent is below.

Students and teachers in the internship are not job shadowing, being lectured to, doing library research or running errands. They are fully engaged in hands-on research that contributes to the research agenda of the laboratory to which they are assigned. Laboratory research problems encountered are complex, open-ended and challenging. Knowledge and skills gained are carried back into the schools.

“The most powerful comment I hear from students is that now they know they can succeed in college,” says Dr. Scott Basinger, Associate Dean of the Baylor Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. “Many students may be the first generation in their families to even consider attending college, and once they complete the program, they are filled with such confidence about themselves and their abilities. It is truly inspiring.”

Participants begin the internship with a week of training in biomedical research methodology and laboratory procedures, including DNA extraction, sample preparation, lab safety and techniques for collecting precise samples.  Following this training they are assigned to a research laboratory for the next five weeks, where they function as part of the research team and learn the language, processes and culture of scientific research.

Funding for the internship comes from Houston A+ Challenge, through a grant from the John P. McGovern Foundation, and from Baylor College, through a grant from the National Institutes of Health.

2007 Summer Science Teams

In addition to the summer internships, the schools have developed ongoing partnerships with Baylor College of Medicine that include the use of equipment in school laboratories and professional development opportunities throughout the year. Graduate students from Baylor also lead “Brain Labs” for students. The graduate students lead an anatomy lesson with a real human brain for students to touch, feel and hold.

With the Baylor Discovery Lab and the John P. McGovern Museum of Health and Medical Science as partners, an expanded program has involved several middle schools, including Hogg Middle School, where the graduate students work in small groups with sixth, seventh and eighth grade students throughout the year. The graduate students mentor the students and lead them in experiments and lectures on various scientific topics.