Baltimore Chapter President
For general inquiries, collaborations, and ideas for new projects, contact the Baltimore Chapter President: Elannah Venhaus.
Elannah Venhaus
[email protected]
Project Bridge Outreach Committees (Active)
Science Outside the Lines
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Committee Leaders:
The Science Outside the Lines (SOTL) team leads day-long science outreach events and an 8‑week after‑school program for 1st–5th grade students at Henderson‑Hopkins Elementary School. The programs invite students (of all ages!) to explore the natural connections between the arts and the sciences through hands‑on, creative learning.
In the classroom, students engage in interactive lessons that link scientific concepts with artistic expression. For example, students explore cell biology through Pointillism or engineer space rovers using recycled materials. Each class begins with a short, engaging lesson led by Johns Hopkins graduate students and concludes with an art project designed to reinforce the featured scientific concepts. In the community, the SOTL team consolidates the 8-week program into a day-long event that includes hands-on STEAM activities focused on the senses like sight (kaleidoscopes), smell (scent jars), touch (Braille bookmarks), and more! We welcome volunteers who are interested in developing leadership, mentorship, and science communication skills. Volunteers are needed to help plan and lead lessons and participate in creating the hands-on activities. Those interested should contact the current SOTL leaders. SOTL is made possible through the support of the Graduate Student Association and the Johns Hopkins Department of Neuroscience. The long-term SOTL leaders, Jessica Lin and Willow Rock (below), received a microgrant from Research!America and 1-year funding from the Johns Hopkins Medicine Alumni Association in 2026 to expand its program opportunities to the community and sustain the 8-week afterschool program. Former SOTL Leaders 2020-2026:
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Science Communication
The science communication committee has two broad goals: to train scientists how to explain their work to a general audience, and to find new and better ways to present scientific information to the public. We are currently working on four projects to address these goals:
Science Communication Workshops Combine brief presentations from expert science communicators with breakout sessions which allow participants to hone their science ‘pitches’, present them to the group, and get immediate feedback. Science Slams Scientists give brief, 5-minute presentations of their work to a general audience and compete for prizes for the best communicated and most creative talks. Slams take place in various public spaces around Baltimore, such as Red Emma’s Café and De Kleine Duivel. Brain Infinity Room An immersive, interactive art installation that teaches the basic principles of how the brain works. This project is made possible by Two Photon Art. Twitter: @PBSciComm
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The Sci'More Podcast
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Committee Leaders and Hosts:
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Chris Seong Yeol An
[email protected]
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Elaine Chen
[email protected]
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Welcome to the Sci’more Show! We believe that it is important to uphold the relationship between scientists and their communities. Our goal is to discuss and breakdown complex scientific topics and principles for the members of the Baltimore community. If you want to B’more like a scientist, then listen to the Sci’more Show today! Find out where to listen here: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scimore.
We are always looking for new topics to cover on our podcast and for new guests to host. Send an email to [email protected] to let us know if you would like to be on our show to chat about science or if you have any topics that you want to suggest to us!
We are always looking for new topics to cover on our podcast and for new guests to host. Send an email to [email protected] to let us know if you would like to be on our show to chat about science or if you have any topics that you want to suggest to us!
Science Gong Show
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Committee Leaders:
The Science Gong Show is a biannual science communication event held at a Baltimore brewery. Local scientists will give a short (~5min) talk about their research to a general audience and audience members are encouraged to interrupt - i.e. "gong" - the talks with gongs and cowbells (that we provide) whenever they hear a scientific jargon or anything they don't understand. When this happens, the scientist must stop, define the jargon used or rephrase the sentence without using the undefined phrase. The goal of the event is to provide scientists a platform to practice their science communication and connect with the Baltimore community. We also aim to make science accessible to the general public in a fun, stress-free environment.
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Baltimore Brainfest
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Committee Leaders:
Baltimore Brainfest is held every year in March as the culminating event for Brain Awareness Week. Community partners, Johns Hopkins affiliates, and Project Bridge volunteers come together to host an event filled with fun experiments, games, crafts, and other activities to learn about the brain. Come check out our brain-themed escape room, compare brains across the animal kingdom, and take home your very own brain-themed artwork. If you would like to learn more about how you or your organization can get involved in Baltimore Brainfest, reach out to the committee leaders at the emails above.
We believe that conscious efforts must be made to create new advocates for science research. Increasing interaction between researchers and their community will encourage the appreciation and understanding of the importance of scientific research. The Baltimore Brainfest seeks to fulfill this mission by bringing together a vast array of educational resources, experiences, and expertise with the Baltimore community in a day-long or evening event full of family-friendly activities, exhibits, games and more. The Senses Our brains help us navigate and interact with the world by using the information gained through sight, touch, taste, smell and hearing. Come learn more about these superpowers and those of other animals. Escape the Brain Escape The Brain is a short, brain themed escape room designed and operated by our scientist volunteers. Guests enjoy our escape room full of puzzles and fun for the whole family. |
Girls' Coding Club
Committee Leaders:
Angela Wang
[email protected]
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Lilian Zhang
[email protected]
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Shichen Zhang
[email protected]
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At Girls' Coding Club we do fun coding activities with middle school girls to get them excited about computer science and STEM! We visit the Midtown Academy near Penn Station every other Monday from 3:30 to 4:30. During each visit we lead an engaging hour-long project. The students work in groups with one graduate student mentor per group to answer questions. Contact the committee leaders if you would like to volunteer with this Project Bridge program.
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PAST PROGRAMS BY PROJECT BRIDGE
Science at the Market
Committee Leaders:
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Science at the Market is a monthly event during the warm months of the year (typically April through September). We set up a booth at local Farmers Markets for the whole time the market is open, and there we host some fun experiments centered around a theme that both kids and adults can do. Previous examples of our outreach include DNA, water, insects, fermentation, and taste. If you’d like to see us in action or help volunteer, please reach out to ask which days Project Bridge will be at the market!
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MD DNA Day
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Committee Leader:
Nick Keith
[email protected]
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MD DNA Day is an annual program for graduate students and scientists to travel to Baltimore and Maryland high school science classrooms to present engaging, hands-on modules covering a topic related to genetics and genomics. High school students meet a real-life young scientist and learn about their journey while early-career scientists get teaching, outreach, and communication experience. MD DNA Day operates in collaboration with the NIH DNA Day initiative that commemorates the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA and the completion of the human genome project every year in late April. Our modules are ready to go and science teacher-approved, so reach out to Nick Keith to be an ambassador or join the committee! For more information about MD DNA day, head to http://mddnaday.wordpress.com/
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Student Advocacy Workshop Series
Committee Leaders:
Kate Schole
[email protected]
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Chris Simpkins
[email protected]
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The Student Advocacy Workshop Series is an initiative that will allow Baltimore City high school students to perform research on a current issue affecting their communities and advocate for change. We work with teachers to integrate workshops and projects relating to these topics into the existing high school curriculum. Our goal is to not only enrich students’ understanding of their science and social studies curriculum, but also foster an interest in scientific communication, policy, and advocacy work.
Brain Connect
The Brain Connect began in 2018 as an effort to educate and engage the Baltimore community during Brain Awareness Week. It consists of a week of short neuroscience lessons taking place in Baltimore city schools, which teach about the structure and function of the brain through a collaborative art project. These lessons also explore ways to impact your own brain function in order to promote mental well-being. The week of lessons culminates in Baltimore Brain Fest, an all-day fair with hands-on brain related demonstrations for the public to learn about all the amazing things the nervous system does! This event doubles as an opportunity to display students' artwork to the Baltimore community.
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Committee Leader:
 Scott Sterrett
[email protected]
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Science Café
Committee Leader:
Jacob Elsey
[email protected]
The Baltimore Science Cafés bring local scientists to the community for casual conversations about their research. Topics span all areas of science, from gene editing to NASA probes to political polling methods. Researchers briefly present their work using only a whiteboard, followed by Q&A with the audience. The cafés are held in venues across Baltimore to better engage the diverse populations that call Charm City home. We hope this environment fuels interactions between scientist and non-scientist neighbors! Watch Project Bridge social media for the next event!
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Project Bridge is funded by the Johns Hopkins Graduate Student Association, the Johns Hopkins Medicine Alumni Association, and the Johns Hopkins Department of Neuroscience.