A hospital/school science fair mentoring program for middle school students

The Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the James P. Timilty Middle School established a partnership to enhance science education, promote faculty development, and improve the health status and academic performance of all Timilty students. This article describes one of the Partnership's Science Connection programs, the Science Fair Mentoring Program, designed to enhance middle school science education, inform urban early adolescents about professions in the health field, inspire them to pursue postsecondary study in the health sciences, and prepare them for rigorous academic work in high school. In this program, hospital-based clinical and research staff mentor young adolescent students. The authors describe the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the Science Fair Mentoring Program as an innovative learning experience.