It's Scientifically Proven:

CONWAY, Ark. (June 13, 2008) – The Hendrix laboratories are usually bustling during the summer months, as dozens of undergraduates assist their professors with research projects. But this week 19 students took time off from their paid research positions to work in another lab, for free.
 
The students volunteered with the second annual Ridin' Dirty with Science program, a free, two-day science camp for under-resourced local students. Two sessions of the camp were held, giving about 40 kids the chance to experiment in Hendrix's state-of-the-art laboratories.
 
The program is a collaboration with the Boys and Girls Club of Faulkner County, which is located several blocks away from campus. Club members entering grades 4-7 have the opportunity to participate.

Word of mouth has boosted this year's attendance significantly. Only four students participated in the first session of the 2007 camp. For this year’s second session, there were so many interested students that some had to be turned away, including a handful of 5- and 6-year-olds.
 
“The kids from the first group were a little apprehensive,” said Marie Abrams, the program director of the local Boys and Girls Club. “They asked, ‘Do we have to take tests? Are we going to have to read a lot?’ But then they came back and told everyone, ‘Wow, we had so much fun! We saw snakes. We got to look in microscopes.’”
 
Three fun lab experiments teach the students the basic scientific principles that affect their everyday lives. For the first experiment, "Bacteria in the Environment," the students collect and culture swabs from a variety of sources, hypothesizing which will show the most bacteria under a microscope. Sources included water fountains and bathroom doorknobs, as well as sillier sites like “Bob’s shoe,” “Dr. Gron’s cat” and “Miss Marie’s mouth.”

On the second day, the “Limonene from Orange Peel” experiment teaches students to make a citrus-based cleaner, leading to a discussion of polar and non-polar molecules. The last experiment, “Caught Dirty Handed,” compares the effectiveness of different hand-washing techniques.

Several of the Hendrix volunteers became like celebrities for the younger students. Senior Bob Fureigh, one of the leader’s of this year’s program, instructed the kids to call him Mr. Bob.  His fame grew when the kids discovered that his shoe was the most bacteria-covered object they tested.

Senior Ketan Patel, who is conducting research on coral snakes with biology professor George Harper, took the students to see the snakes.  He became known almost reverently as The Snake Man.

“The kids didn’t know they could do that with science,” Abrams said of Patel’s snake research. “They didn’t know there’s a lot you can do with a science degree other than just be a doctor.”
 
The large number of Hendrix students willing to volunteer is crucial to the success of the program. For the first session, June 9-10, there was more than one volunteer for every child. The second session, with almost twice as many attendees, had a ratio of about 2-to-1. The assurance that each child is being closely watched and assisted allows the students to do experiments that would never take place in a one-teacher classroom.
 
"The program allows students to interact with science-y things at their own pace," chemistry professor Liz Gron said. "For the limonene experiment, which uses dry ice, we give the kids 20 minutes just to play with it – to see what it does if you put it in water, for example. We can do things you just couldn't do with a high student-to-staff ratio, because we make sure no one is unsupervised long enough to, say, put it in their mouth."

Gron supervises the lab experiments, but the Ridin' Dirty program is fully student-run and student-initiated. Four Hendrix students developed the program in 2006, and the program will continue as long as there is a group of students willing to run it. Fureigh, a chemistry major and philosophy minor from Bryant, and Samantha Clark, a biology major and psychology minor from Little Rock, have taken the reins this year.
 
Two of the program's founders have remained involved as volunteers. Another, Erica Siebrasse, is directing "Ridin' Dirty: Kansas Edition" in her hometown of Parsons, Kan., this summer.
 
The primary goal of the camp is to foster an excitement for science, Gron said. But while the Boys and Girls Club students learn science, the Hendrix students learn how to teach science – ditching the complicated jargon and explaining concepts in simpler terms. The camp also gives Hendrix students a chance to interact with the local community in a positive way.
 
"A lot of the students who are volunteering here are planning for careers in medicine or dentistry," Clark said. "Their passion for helping others is just as strong as their passion for science."
 
In return for their volunteer work, the Hendrix students receive a bright green Ridin' Dirty with Science T-shirt. Each camper also receives a free shirt, an orange Hendrix totebag and a pair of lab safety goggles to take home as souvenirs. The costs of the program are paid by a grant from the Hendrix Odyssey program.

"Your Hendrix Odyssey: Engaging in Active Learning" is a major component to the Hendrix curriculum. The Odyssey program offers credit and funding for experiential learning projects students undertake at home or abroad. Each student is required to complete three Odyssey experiences selected from six categories. Volunteers with the Ridin' Dirty program will receive Service to the World credit for their work.

Hendrix, founded in 1876, is a selective, residential, undergraduate liberal arts college emphasizing experiential learning in a demanding yet supportive environment. The college is among 165 colleges featured in the 2008 edition of the Princeton Review America's Best Value Colleges. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. For more information, contact Mark Scott at scottm@hendrix.edu or 501-450-1462.