Annual Outreach Activities

K-12 Outreach and Engagement

The Department of Biomedical Sciences provides outreach and engagement opportunities to K-12 students both on and off campus. These programs range from hour-long presentations to semester-long collaborations. Topics include human and animal anatomy, neuroscience, sensory systems, neurological diseases, and brain injury due to stroke or trauma.

We work with K-12 schools in Fort Collins, and middle and high schools throughout Colorado including Berthoud, Centennial, Frederick, Frisco, Estes Park, Greeley, Longmont, Loveland, Mead, and Windsor. Programming includes:

  • Using virtual reality to teach high school students to think critically: At Frederick high school for example, students have been using virtual reality to work through anatomical case studies using the virtual cadaver to describe and understand anatomical relationships.  
  • Brain Awareness Week outreach: For over 15 years, faculty, staff, and students have taught local middle and high school students about the brain and nervous system through on-site interactive stations focused on specific topics.
  • Regular school visits: Individual faculty members regularly visit local schools for various biomedical science presentations and activities.

Public Outreach and Engagement

Our faculty also partner with a variety of organizations to provide biomedical sciences education to the general public through both one-time and annual programs and events. These partners include Creator Hub, Expanding Your Horizons, Pretty Brainy, The Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, Off the Hook Arts, and Women in Science. Programming includes:

  • Fort Collins Museum of Discovery: Faculty and students host interactive stations at the museum annually, including BrainStorm and HeartBreakers.
  • Brainfest at Off the Hook Arts: Faculty and students provided materials for, and staffed stations covering topics including the visual system, optical illusions, and the auditory system.
  • Little Shop of Physics: Faculty and students provide interactive stations and the human anatomy virtual reality program for the annual open house at CSU’s Lory Student Center.

Contact us

For more information about Department of Biomedical Sciences outreach and engagement programs, contact [email protected].