Coming Soon to the University of Minnesota!
YES! arranges tours of the many types of research labs and institutions. We connect youth with scientists who share their work, demonstrate the tools and technology they use, and happily answer students’ questions. During the school year, these tours can be planned for a couple of hours or a whole day. YES! also hosts week-long summer programs in collaboration with colleagues and surrounding institutions.
We are currently building a network of educational tours at the University of Minnesota. If your lab or institute is interested in hosting educational tours for local youth, please contact us at dcanlab@umn.edu.
Examples of past educational tours at Oregon Health & Science University
Advanced Imaging Research Center (AIRC) tours
A MR physicist provides basic information about how MRI machines work, the types of MR images that can be generated using different sequences, and the types of clinical and research applications that those MR images can be used for.
Electroencephalography (EEG) lab tours
We have partnered with Dr. Sarah Karalunas whose EEG lab gives tours featuring descriptions of the science behind EEG caps, demonstrations of EEG data as it is being collected, and research applications of EEG data.
OHSU Aerial Tram tour
The Aerial tram tour features the engine room and control rooms at the lower terminal. These tours have been appealing particularly to students with an interest in engineering careers.
OHSU School of Dentistry tour
The Dental School provides a career-oriented presentation in which they outline specific pathways for getting into careers in dentistry, including the types of classes they expect their candidates to have taken before applying to the school, as well as providing information of country-wide career advisors in dentistry. They also offer tours of their training facility which features a state-of-the-art 75-student training station where students get to observe dental students performing different procedures in their work-stations.
An MR Scientists provides a tour of the OHSU AIRC Lab to YES! students 
YES! students tour the OHSU Aerial Tram at Kohler Pavilion
OHSU Surgical Simulation Lab tours
The Sim lab provides gross anatomy demonstrations by the anatomic services division, which includes a brief PowerPoint presentation of different surgical procedures and the various clinical cases in which they are applied, followed by anatomical demonstrations using actual human cadavers. The group also provides an interactive demonstration of laparoscopic surgery in which students get to participate in hands-on demos.
Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC) tour
ONPRC tours feature an interactive presentation about science methods, a presentation about current center research projects, a visit to the outdoor corrals to observe the Center’s rhesus and Japanese macaque breeding colonies, a Center scientist discussing their research, and/or a tour of selected labs.
Portland Alcohol Research Center (PARC) tour
PARC provides lectures on the effects of alcohol (and other drugs such as methamphetamine) on the nervous system. They discuss the neurotransmitter pathways that are affected by alcohol, as well as the effects of acute and extended alcohol use on brain functioning. The lectures are complemented by an interactive experimental session where students are engaged in a simulated experiment that examines the dose-dependent effects of ethanol on spatial exploratory behavior in mice. In addition, students get to experience the effects of alcohol on visuo-motor tasks (walking in a straight line, aiming and throwing a ball in a basket) via the use of prism goggles that were designed to simulate the effects of ethanol on the visual system.