Vanderbilt Student Volunteers for Science

Vanderbilt Student Volunteers for Science (VSVS) is a group of about 300 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students whose goal is to provide inquiry-based, hands-on science activities for Nashville middle school students through both on-campus and off-campus programs. An on-campus lesson on polymers is presented by VSVS teams to approximately 5200 sixth graders each year through Vanderbilt's Day on Campus program. The off-campus program involves visits of VSVS teams to an assigned fifth or sixth grade classroom eight times a year to present a one-hour lesson designed to help students understand scientific concepts. Currently, VSVS teams are working with teachers in 60 classrooms at five middle schools that involve about 1800 fifth and sixth grade students.