Allston Ed Portal Hosts Science Jamboree

Kneeling down next to three-year-old Sabine Armstrong, Svilen N. Kanev ’12 helped the young Cambridge resident use a video game controller to maneuver a robot at the Harvard Allston Education Portal’s Science Jamboree on Saturday. The Jamboree was organized by the Life Sciences Department, Ed Portal staff, and the Science Cabinet, a coalition of 23 science, mathematics and health-related undergraduate organizations formed this past summer. The event at the Ed Portal, a community outreach facility, aimed to encourage local children’s interest in science. The young students visited nine different science exhibitions—which ranged from making ice cream using dry ice to dissecting owl pellets—receiving a stamp on their “science passports” as they progressed. “Look at how excited [the children] are,” said Susan Johnson, one of the Life Science Department’s outreach coordinators, gesturing to the crowd of rambunctious children scurrying from demonstration to demonstration. “I remember when I was young I fell in love with science when I looked through a microscope at an organism at an event like this. I want these children to have the same opportunity to do that.” Both Harvard students and community parents said that the event, the first showcase held by undergraduate students at the Ed Portal, not only exposed neighborhood children to science but also brought Harvard undergraduates and community residents together. “This Jamboree helps give Harvard a face,” said Johnny H. Hu ’11, a math and science mentor at the Ed Portal. “Students can interact with residents, and we [students] can have a positive impact on the community.” The Ed Portal, located at 175 North Harvard Street, opened in July 2008 as a component of the $25 million community benefits package that Harvard agreed to in order to build the $1 billion Allston Science Complex. Construction on the Science Complex was halted in Dec. 2009 due to financial constraints. The Jamboree drew approximately 100 community parents and students, according to Ed Portal Director Mary Helen Black. Black, an Allston resident herself, noted that Portal regulars as well as “many new faces” attended the event. “I’m glad that Harvard has resources like this for the community,” said Allston-Brighton resident Jim McLoughlin, who brought his three young children to the Jamboree. “This is a fabulous chance for my kids to learn.” —Staff writer Tara W. Merrigan can be reached at tmerrigan@college.harvard.edu.