The FYR Digital Book Builder is part of the daily activities of a new summer camp for middle school age kids. The concept for the camp began with a team of scientists and one artist (Fellman) researching ways to educate young people about human biology, genetics, and evolution.
After many meetings and rough drafts, a teaching plan with an artistic component was devised. The approach was to pair a student’s family story (their genealogy) with their gene story (DNA ancestry) to understand basic scientific concepts. Called “Finding Your Roots” (FYR) the plan received funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The result is the Genetics and Genealogy Summer Camp for middle school age kids.
The curricula developer, Dr. Biz Wright, the project team, and camp teachers hope that a creative and visual experience like the Digital Book Builder will get kids jazzed about biology, science careers, and their own unique gene story.
Learn more about the FYR project at findingyourroots.la.psu.edu
Project Directors: Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Dr. Nina Jablonski
Curriculum Developer: Dr. Elizabeth Wright
Designer, illustrator, animator: Lynn Fellman
Research Technologist: Tess Wilson
Finding Your Roots
Pennsylvania State University
403C Carpenter Bldg, University Park, PA 16802
