FUN LEGO VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY @MIT

Optional Pizza Dinner $8pp: 5:45 to 6:15 PM
Volunteer Project:          6:30 to 9:00 PM

Manipulating Lego chromosomes and amino acids will help students learn "hands on" about cell division and gene expression in AP biology classes and the freshman Gateway biology program at the John D. O’Bryant School of Math and Science in Roxbury. Though Lego life sciences “kits” have been purchased with grant funding (sciencebuilders.com), these sets only contain loose pieces, so volunteer help is needed to assemble and to organize components that can readily be used.

MIT’s K-12 Outreach Program at MIT’s Center for Environmental Health Sciences, along with the Edgerton Center, has developed science and technology school programs, and now many school science teachers want to share these LEGO lessons with students in their own classrooms. Video of the kits in use at

• http://techtv.mit.edu/videos/809-lego-animation-of-meiosis-with-descriptive-titles
• http://techtv.mit.edu/videos/468-translation-reading-the-dna-code-the-hands-on-lego-version

While no science knowledge is required, this project does require fine motor skills and attention to detail, carefully and repetitively building and manipulating small Lego hinges and amino acids, copying patterns, and filling and checking boxed sets while standing.

We seek volunteers age 12* and older. Volunteers under age 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

NO partial participation can be accommodated. This means that late arrivals and early departures are unacceptable.

*Volunteer age exceptions will be made on a case-by-case basis, depending on LEGO experience and ability to stay focused until 9 PM. If your child is younger than 12 years old, and you register via SmarTrans, give recent example(s) of his/her capacity for focused work until 9pm, under Additional Comments.

Registration via SmarTrans opens 7/4 and closes 7/24. Only individuals may register themselves.