Operation Outbreak and BioBus piloted an infectious disease education initiative last week at Dearborn STEM Academy in Roxbury, Massachusetts, bringing hands-on microbiology and outbreak science instruction to six classes of 9th, 11th, and 12th grade students.
The pilot combined BioBus’s mobile laboratory model with Operation Outbreak’s simulation-based approach to infectious disease education, encouraging students to explore the ways technology helps scientists study the nature of disease.
During the sessions, students rotated through two interactive lessons aboard the BioBus. On one side of the bus, students explored the scale of microbes through microscopes and dissected medical masks to better understand how materials and design help reduce the spread of airborne diseases.
On the other side, students received instruction from Dr. Todd Brown, Operation Outbreak’s Co-Founder and Director of Innovation and Training, who used Operation Outbreak simulation data to teach core infectious disease concepts including incubation time, transmission dynamics, and contact tracing.
BioBus is a New York City-based nonprofit that instructs K-12 and college students in NYC and Boston metro areas through a fleet of mobile interactive science labs, with a focus on students historically excluded from the scientific community.
The pilot at Dearborn STEM Academy reflects a shared commitment by Operation Outbreak and BioBus to make advanced science education accessible, interactive, and relevant to students’ lives. They plan to use feedback from the pilot to explore future collaborations that bring hands-on outbreak science learning to more students.
Media Contact:
Sellers Hill
+1 (857) 858-5798
sellers@operationoutbreak.org
www.operationoutbreak.org
About Operation Outbreak, Inc.
Operation Outbreak is a nonprofit organization that uses experiential learning and outbreak simulations to build practical outbreak preparedness skills among students, professionals, and policymakers worldwide.