Bay Area Scientists in Schools (BASIS)
Bay Area Scientists in Schools (BASIS) is a science and engineering volunteer role-model program serving public elementary schools in Berkeley, Oakland, Richmond, and Pinole. BASIS provides teachers and students the opportunity to interact with real-life scientists and engineers, while they explore hands-on science experiments and engineering challenges. Graduate students in the Lacey Lab have served as volunteer instructors for BASIS, leading lessons in evolutionary biology and ecology for K-6 students across the bay.
Be A Scientist (BAS)
Be A Scientist gives middle school students a chance to work one-on-one with real-life scientists as they tackle their science fair projects. BAS allows young students of all backgrounds the chance to successfully complete a science project of their choice by providing all of the necessary supplies and individualized mentorship from an experienced scientist. Over the course of 6 weeks, scientists meet with a small group of middle schoolers on a weekly basis to guide them through every step of the scientific process, from idea inception all the way to data collection, analysis, and presentation. Graduate students in Lacey Lab have served as science mentors at a number of middle schools in the Berkeley area.
Expanding Your Horizons (EYH)
The Expanding Your Horizons chapter at Cal organizes a yearly conference to introduce 5th - 8th grade girls to careers in STEM. Each year in March/April, nearly 500 girls come to the UC Berkeley campus for an entire day to enjoy a variety of interactive, hands-on workshops. Graduate students in the Lacey Lab have served as workshop leaders and conference organizers.
Biological Scholars Program (BSP)
The Biology Scholars Program (BSP) at UC Berkeley is a program that challenges the "by the numbers" popular view (e.g., SATs and high school GPAs as good predictors of success) about who can and should do science. Over the past 27 years, of the more than 3,000 BSP graduates, 60% have been underrepresented minorities (African American, Hispanic, and American Indian), 70% women, and 80% from low-income backgrounds and/or the first in their family to attend college.
For the past 7 years, Professor Lacey and her students, along with other IB faculty and students, have been organizing and leading an annual weekend retreat for BSP students to Hastings Natural History Reserve in Carmel, California. There, students receive a hands on introduction to various aspects of field biology, including mist netting for birds, identifying local plant life, and small mammal trapping. In addition, students participate in breakout discussions on a wide range of topics related to their experiences as biology students at UC Berkeley and beyond. Through these trips, we hope to expose students from diverse backgrounds to the diversity of opportunities biology has to offer and to build a sense of community while immersed in Coastal California wilderness.
For the past 7 years, Professor Lacey and her students, along with other IB faculty and students, have been organizing and leading an annual weekend retreat for BSP students to Hastings Natural History Reserve in Carmel, California. There, students receive a hands on introduction to various aspects of field biology, including mist netting for birds, identifying local plant life, and small mammal trapping. In addition, students participate in breakout discussions on a wide range of topics related to their experiences as biology students at UC Berkeley and beyond. Through these trips, we hope to expose students from diverse backgrounds to the diversity of opportunities biology has to offer and to build a sense of community while immersed in Coastal California wilderness.
