Immersive science summer camp positions students to save the world

The Geneskool camp, organized by the nonprofit organization Genome BC, aims to show students what a career in science may be like, as many of the things done in the lab for the camp are similar to what real scientists may do.

“It’s great to expose them to this kind of opportunity early on, to really give them an idea about what they’re maybe going to be able to do after high school. It’s a way to make things a little bit more accessible to everyone early on, and they can start thinking about that in grade nine and wondering: ‘what are the possibilities with what I can do if I’m given the tools to be able to do it,'” explained the Science Camp Director Samantha Smith.

The chance to work with high-level equipment and get a taste of what a career in science could look like was certainly appreciated by the students, especially since for many of them it was their first time working the university level equipment.

“When I was back in China, we didn’t have a chance to do this kind of lab. After I got here I got lots of new skills. For example, doing DNA replication and learning how to use a microscope,” said student Winston Peng.

Beyond the goals of encouraging young scientists to pursue science as a career, a huge focus of the summer camp is the immersive aspect to make learning fun. In this case, the camp took inspiration from the hit video game and TV show The Last of Us, as students were tasked with creating a vaccine to combat a fungi based virus turning people into zombies. This story based element greatly elevated the experience for many of the participants.

“It just makes it a lot more interesting, and it’s just pretty fun. And it’s also kind of scary that this could actually maybe happen, but it’s cool that we get to solve the mystery,” Westerlaken said.

“I really enjoy the story and trying to get the true truth of Doctor Carter’s breakout of the fungi thing, I really love it,” Peng added.

“A lot of the time in high school, they learn a lot, they get a lot of good information, but it’s hard sometimes for them to then wonder, ‘okay, so why am I learning this?’ And I think having that narrative really helps with giving them the why, as to why we’re studying this or why we’re learning about this,” Smith added.

The experience isn’t over yet, as the summer camp will conclude on August 16, where the students will present their findings to the group.

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by Tommy Osborne

Immersive science summer camp positions students to save the world

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