Morgane Golan, Steven L. Stice, and Holly A. Kinder, University of Georgia
Abstract
This article presents a case study of the Regenerative Bioscience (RBIO) Open House, a community-engaged science outreach initiative designed to reach secondary students and science teachers. The project emerged in response to community-identified needs for greater exposure to advanced science topics, career awareness, and personal interaction with scientists. The event offered high school students and teachers an immersive introduction to regenerative bioscience, a field with broad implications for biomedicine. Students engaged with researchers, exploring cutting-edge therapies and biotechnologies through interactive programming. Teachers gained content knowledge, pedagogical resources, and hands-on experience to integrate into their curricula. The event also served the regenerative bioscience community by enabling scientist-teacher collaboration and by facilitating student recruitment. Survey data revealed strong alignment with project goals and highlighted the reciprocal benefits of meaningful outreach. As a model of community-engaged scholarship, the RBIO Open House represents a promising approach to science engagement, workforce development, and academic-community partnership.