The theme of the August @homecamps was Biomedical Technology, which gave way for great discussions and insights into the different paths of a medical career. Our esteemed panel of doctors and medical students guided the conversation and our Ambassadors on all of the different ways they could have a career in the biomedical field. During this August 8 Symposium, the Ambassadors were on the edge of their seats while our panelists talked about their careers and the different schooling paths they each took to lead them to where they are today. Each speaker as successful as the next, our Ambassadors were given the tools they need to jumpstart their biomedical interests and careers. Part of our Symposium was a hands-on experiment with common items around households so our Ambassadors could apply some biomedical techniques to experiments. Our Ambassadors were split into two groups and conducted an experiment either on paper airplanes or yeast growth.
For the students that conducted experiments with paper airplanes, their focus was on how to make the plane, essentially work better. They constructively analyzed the common paper plane model and asked themselves, “Would changing the wings make the plane go further? What about more force on the release? What if we make the plane longer rather than wider?”. This experiment challenged our Ambassadors to be creative in their potential solutions. After each Ambassador made a standard paper airplane, they each made a second plane with whatever modifications they thought would make the plane fly further.
The yeast growth experiment was set up relatively the same way. After each Ambassador put yeast in the same environmental conditions, they were charged with thinking creatively on how different environmental changes would impact the growth of the yeast. Some of the environmental changes they made were the amount of light, the amount of yeast, the type and amount of solution, or any combination of changes. This experiment forced the Ambassadors to think about proper experimental methods and served as a reminder of the great impact that the environment has.
When we finished our August 8 Biomedical and Technology Symposium our Ambassadors asked for more! So, August 15 we hosted a Biomedical STEM Room so our Ambassadors could come back and have more discussions with each other on their own topics of interest. We were joined once again by panelists Dr. Umstead and Dr. Long to talk more about general surgery, a day in the life of a trauma surgeon, and DNA. So our Ambassadors could get a thorough understanding of DNA and how it works, they created their own optionally edible DNA! By creating their own DNA, including having to match base pairs correctly, our Ambassadors were given a tangible grasp and deeper understanding of DNA and its makeup. The knowledge and curiosity emphasized in our August Biomedical Technology Symposium is what we want our Ambassadors to love and experience. We hope you join us for our upcoming sessions, let’s learn together!