BioJam Camp: toward justice through bioengineering and biodesign co-learning with youth

TL;DR

BioJam Camp is an interdisciplinary initiative that integrates art, community engagement, and traditional knowledge to make science more inclusive, accessible, and culturally relevant for marginalized youth and communities of color.

Contribution

It introduces a novel co-learning approach that centers cultural practices and storytelling to reframe science education for marginalized communities.

Findings

Engages youth through art and storytelling to foster interest in STEM.

Centers traditional and cultural knowledge in science education.

Aims to create a more inclusive and liberatory scientific community.

Abstract

BioJam is a political, artistic, and educational project in which Bay Area artists, scientists, and educators collaborate with youth and communities of color to address historical exclusion of their communities in STEM fields and reframe what science can be. As an intergenerational collective, we co-learn on topics of culture (social and biological), community (cultural and ecological), and creativity. We reject the notion that increasing the number of scientists of color requires inculcation in the ways of the dominant culture. Instead, we center cultural practices, traditional ways of knowing, storytelling, art, experiential learning, and community engagement to break down the framing that positions these practices as distinct from science. The goal of this work is to realize a future in which the practice of science is relatable, accessible, and liberatory.