BASIS Mission & History

Teachers and students love having "-ologists" in their classroom: real-life scientists who generate enthusiasm about science as both a discipline and a career.  Likewise, scientists are eager to get involved in educational outreach, but often need help connecting with schools and figuring out how best to share their love for science with learners of all ages.

You need to get students engaged in science early on, and nurturing a child’s curiosity is the best way to train a future scientist."
--Graduate Student Volunteer

The mission of the BASIS program is simple: to create a bridge between teachers and students who are eager to learn and scientists who are eager to communicate the science they love in a student-friendly format. We do that by recruiting and preparing scientists, and then coordinating with teachers to schedule classroom visits. 

BASIS provides scientist volunteers with basic training in classroom management  and teaching techniques, guides them in lesson preparation and selection or creation of hands-on lessons targeted to grade-level science standards, and helps them practice so they'll feel ready to take their lesson -- and their passion for science learning -- into the classroom.

I am passionate about improving science education and literacy in our country.  If I inspire an interest in science in even just one student, I feel that my time spent has been more than worthwhile."
--Graduate Student Volunteer

This simple model has been highly effective and rewarding for everyone involved.  From its humble beginnings with a handful of community volunteers in 1998, BASIS has grown to include over 270 scientists who make classroom presentations to thousands of students, mainly in high-need public schools, each year.  

This incredible growth is thanks in large part to strong partnerships with communities of local scientists at the University of California-Berkeley and Bayer Pharmaceuticals.  We owe a special debt of gratitude to Cal Professor Bob Bergman, who brought BASIS to the College of Chemistry in 2001 and has since helped grow the program to include volunteers from over 20 campus science departments.