? CityLab, a regional biotechnology learning laboratory, is the umbrella under which Boston University School of Medicine concentrates its pre-college science education efforts. CityLab has provided more than 60,000 middle and high school students and their teachers with hands-on inquiry-based biomedical science laboratory experiences via its well-received curriculum supplements. CityLab's two dedicated laboratories and its mobile biotechnology laboratory (MobileLab) now serve over 9,000 students per year. CityLab s a successful model for both local and national efforts to improve pre-college science education, as evidenced by its long waiting list to secure a visit and by the growing number of CityLab satellites that have replicated many facets of this program. CityLab also disseminates its curriculum supplements directly to teachers who can implement the curriculum in their own classrooms. To date, we estimate that nearly 300,000 students have participated in a laboratory experience that utilizes CityLab-developed materials. ? ? CityLab's mission is to introduce pre-college students and their teachers to the world of biotechnology as a means of promoting both interest in science and scientific literacy. Students who are interested in science may pursue advanced coursework in preparation for a career in the biomedical sciences. Further, an informed citizenry will make prudent policy and health/lifestyle decisions. These goals have led us to expand our vision of pre-college science education to encompass a broader systems approach to biology. Our primary aims for the next five years are to work with local teachers to develop new laboratory curriculum supplements that will use a coordinated systems approach to unify the study of many key life science topics in the state and national frameworks. We propose to create a series of laboratory experiences that will allow students to explore blood as a means of understanding protein structure and function, cell structure, and related topics. These new materials will be disseminated through our growing network of CityLab satellites. ? ?
