It’s All About Me

Partnering with our community: It’s All About Me (IAAM)

Running in parallel with Youth BIOlab programming, It’s All About Me is a unique partnership with the Louis Riel School Division (LRSD) that brings programming into schools across the LRSD in English and French. The development of It’s All About Me in 2005 marked the beginning of the Research Centre’s formal outreach efforts, and this partnership model formed the basis for all of our work with schools and the development of the Youth BIOlab.

The name of this program, It’s All About Me, reflects the idea that the health science and medicine in the hospital and Research Centre have a personal connection to students and their science learning.

Programming mirrors elements of Youth BIOlab programming and is continually developed with classroom teachers. Meghan Kynoch coordinates the It’s All About Me programming, including in-school and Youth BIOlab visits for LRSD classes.

In-school programs are most often held in grade 5-8 classrooms and generally run for a morning or afternoon with a recess or washroom/snack break. Tissues for dissection are from pigs used in the meat industry. All materials and tools for the activity will be provided by the Youth BIOlab. We ask that you have disinfectant on hand for clean-up.  

Topics include:

Grade 5 Maintaining a Healthy body – Looking inside the body

Learn how doctors and scientists try to understand what happens inside the body in health and disease. Students will assemble a skeleton model together, learn about the technology used to see inside the body, build and interpret MRI puzzles, and participate in a heart and lung dissection. 

Grade 5 Maintaining a Healthy Body – Health & Nutrition

Foods are nourishing and life-giving, some may contribute to or even prevent disease. Learn about some of the important building blocks in our food, what foods they’re found in, and what they do for our body. Measure and compare the nutrients between a typical fast food meal and a home-cooked meal. We can also discuss other risk factors for health such as genetics, sleep, mental health, movement/physical activity, and drug use (prescription and recreational).

Grade 6 Diversity of Living Things or Grade 7 Interactions within Ecosystems

Understanding the role of microorganisms in infectious disease and in the human microbiome. Students learn how scientists and doctors study infectious diseases and the microorganisms around us to help make public health decisions. They will swab locations around the classroom or school for growth on agar plates to explore the requirements for life and microbial diversity This activity includes 2 visits, the first – 1.5 hours for an introduction and agar plate swabbing – and the second – 1 hour follow up to observe the microbial growth on agar plates, talk about infectious disease, and a game to simulate an outbreak and contact tracing back to patient zero. 

Grade 8 Cells and Systems – Heart Dissection

Understanding heart disease from risk factors, to diagnostics, and observations of changes at the cell, tissue, and organ level resulting from heart disease. Students will investigate a mock patient case, discuss risk factors for heart disease, use stethoscopes and blood pressure monitors, and participate in a porcine heart dissection. 

Grade 8 Optics – Eye Dissection

Learn about some of the ways we use optical instruments in the lab and diseases that affect our most important optical instrument, the eye! Students will investigate a mock patient case to try and determine the underlying cause of symptoms. We will discuss eye function and the impacts of diabetic retinopathy from cell to organ level and students can participate in an eye dissection. Because of their availability and perishability, eye dissections are booked on Thursdays, Fridays and if need be, Mondays. 

LRSD teachers can submit in-school booking requests through the booking link above. The above descriptions are our most commonly requested activities. As always, additional activities are available for other age groups and curriculum connections. Let us know in your booking form if you have a particular interest you’d like us to focus on, we love to collaborate!

Please contact Meghan Kynoch with inquiries. mkynoch@sbrc.ca