The John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii (UH) has donated thousands of dollars worth of science equipment to 13 Hawaiian public high schools, reported Pacific Business News (PBN).
The schools benefiting from the donation span four of the state's islands as part of a program equipping high school science teachers with new technology and fresh information for them to use in their classrooms.
"We found that many of the schools didn't have basic supplies and equipment," Assistant Professor Rachel Boulay said in a statement. "As the demand for STEM professions increases, so does the need for equipment in high school science labs."
UHs medical school's professional development program paired its faculty with high school science teachers three years ago in an effort to improve high school science classes.
According to PBN, Boulay teamed up with the medical school's faculty and with a local community college to coordinate donations from retired researchers who were willing to part with their equipment and supplies. This served another purpose as it cut the cost of destroying unused lab equipment, saving the university money.
As for the donated equipment, Baldwin High School (Maui) teacher Amy Ancheta, is already putting it to use.
"We already used mortar and pestle in DNA extraction lab last week," she said in a statement. "And we are planning to use (the) dissecting microscope for our plants and animal unit next month."
The medical school plans to continue their collaborative program. Dean Jerris Hedges acknowledged in a statement the program's success.
"We know our future health professionals can be found in classrooms at any grade level," Hedges said. "Through a number of programs, our faculty and MD students reach out to young people to encourage them to consider health careers, and to empower them with the knowledge that they could succeed in any number of careers using their unique talents."
