Alaska is a vast state equal to the combined areas of Texas, California, New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, Massachusetts, Virginia and Vermont, yet it has half the road miles of Maryland, a state 56 times smaller and with a population of just 626,932. Alaska's physical size, lack of road access to most communities, natural barriers and some of the earth's harshest weather have limited the state's ability to educate its citizens, provide adequate health care, and even to provide public water and sewer systems for everyone. Alaska also relies heavily on outsiders to fill its need for most professionals, such as educators, scientists and health professionals. Unfortunately, these outsiders often don't appreciate Alaska's extreme conditions or remoteness. They usually leave the state after serving only a few months or one or two semesters. If this trend is to change, Alaska must begin to identify, recruit and education its own youth to become tomorrow's teachers, scientists and health professionals. The North Star program proposes to design and implement a 5-year, outcome-based Phase l/ll plan that brings together The Imaginarium Science Discovery Center, the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) Department of Biological Sciences and WWAMI program, Providence Alaska Hospital, and a statewide advisory committee to provide: 1) Twenty five educationally and/or economically disadvantaged Alaskan high school students (predominantly Alaska Natives from rural villages) with direct access to biomedical research mentors to guide and support student research projects; 2) a six-week summer institute focusing on a premed curriculum and job shadowing opportunities; 3) school-year internships for 60 educationally and/or economically disadvantaged Anchorage students in grades 8-12 at The Imaginarium for direct access to science and health content, training on delivering research-based demonstrations and exhibit building for public purview; 4) teacher professional development for 200 teachers across Alaska focusing on inquiry-based, hands on learning techniques, supplemental health and science curricula; 5) University and Hospital researchers with direct access to the general public to disseminate their research methods and results in public venues; and; 6) a website for showcasing student and biomedical research methods and results, a participant forum for blogging, pages for sharing their research projects, and links to other resources. The North Star program will be evaluated by an independent evaluation firm with student matriculation rates tracked and career paths followed.
