About

BioScience Montana 2012 Participants, August, 2013BioScience Montana was an immersive health sciences project for high school-aged Montana 4-H'ers.

BioScience Montana was funded by the National Institutes of Health to help Montana teens prepare for careers and studies in the health sciences and biomedical research.

4-H students from throughout Montana, along with adult team leaders, were chosen to participate each year. Students were introduced to:

  • hands-on science and research projects about how the brain makes choices, how scientists deal with infectious
  • diseases, the connections between nutrition and health, and more
  • careers and studies in health science-related fields
  • digital media and social networking technologies

After a short pilot of the program in early 2012, the year-long program began in August, 2012, when students spent an immersive week on the MSU-Bozeman campus, studying alongside faculty and students. Upon returning to their home communities, students spent the remainder of the school year fully engaged in experiments and science challenges. Participants also used interactive technologies to communicate with one another, to connect with MSU student mentors, and to present what they learned to family, schools and the statewide 4-H community.

BioScience Montana 2012 Participants, August, 2013Students participated in teams of 4-6 people plus one adult leader; nine teams from throughout Montana were selected to participate in the first cohort. To participate in BioScience Montana, students had to be entering 8th grade or higher and committed to the Bioscience Montana project for one 4-H year.

Each team member was required to have:

  • internet access
  • an email address
  • the ability to travel to the MSU Bozeman campus for a week-long camp in August and a mid-Winter or early Spring science weekend.

(Note: travel stipends were available, and lodging in Bozeman was paid with project funds.)

All team members were 4-H members, and team leaders were certified 4-H leaders.

BioScience Montana was made possible by Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded to Montana State University's Extended University, Montana 4-H Center for Youth Development, and the MSU Departments of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Immunology and Infectious Diseases.