TeenSHARP Comes to Visit!

It has been a busy few weeks here in the BUARG lab -- we recently hosted two of the TeenSHARP program's chapters for visits to our lab and the larger Earth and Environment department. From their mission statement: “TeenSHARP […] gives low-income and minority youth access to premier leadership opportunities, trains them be ambassadors of higher education in their communities, and prepares them for success at selective colleges and universities.”

We had been planning for and looking forward to their visit for some time, and finally got to introduce the students to the lab! Here are some pictures and a write-up about their visit:

All the students who visited with TeenSHARP had the opportunity to visit the Antarctic Research Lab, meet with current students in the BURECS cohort, and discuss academic activities at BU with Dr. Marchant during the lab sessions. Many of them also visited the Digital Image Analysis facility within the Antarctic Research Lab, where they took a virtual tour of Antarctic field research sites, and received an overview of the BU Antarctic Research Group’s (BUARG) methods for remote fieldwork. 

Students then visited the main BUARG/BURECS lab where they observed mid-Miocene age fossilized mosses in hand sample and analyzed them under the lab’s scanning electron microscope (SEM). They similarly handled preserved volcanic ash using optical microscopes, and discussed BUARG’s procedures for sample collection in the field. Current students in the BURECS program were on hand to assist and discuss their work in the program.

The March 31 visit included a student panel following the lab sessions. The TeenSHARP students asked questions on a broad range of topics, from life as an undergraduate and the faculty-student mentoring relationship to living in Boston and the benefits of attending a university in a major research hub. The panel included both undergraduate and graduate students, including a current BURECS student, and was moderated by a senior student in the TeenSHARP program.

We hope to see you again soon, TeenSHARP!

Are you and/or your students interested in visiting the BURECS lab? Send us an e-mail at burecscience at gmail dot com or ddennis at bu dot edu.