‘It’s incredibly fun’: Meet Patel introduces hands-on labs to young students
MULABS is a student organization focused on providing hands-on education to elementary and middle school students in the Oxford community
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Published
Meet Patel is a Miami University senior studying Microbiology and a student in the university's Honors College.
‘It’s incredibly fun’: Meet Patel introduces hands-on labs to young students
MULABS is a student organization focused on providing hands-on education to elementary and middle school students in the Oxford community
•
Published
Microbiology senior and Honors College student Meet Patel’s first hands-on learning experience was a lightbulb moment for him. Before college, he’d always struggled to absorb information in a traditional lecture setting. Once he got the chance to put concepts into practice, it made all the difference — and served as an inspiration.
“When I got to Miami, I had so many labs, (nearly) every day I had to go to a two-hour lab,” Patel said. “Initially, it was hard, but I feel like what I learned there helped me a lot when I was going back to lecture. And so I was like, maybe this is something that could help younger kids as well.”
Patel has two younger siblings, a sister and a brother. When he’s home, he enjoys putting together activities for them to do, one particular favorite being circuit building.
“So this inspired me to think, ‘what if I did that for more kids,’” Patel said. “I could design a workshop where they have to put a circuit together from scratch, and they figure out how electricity works and how power works, and I give them a brief lecture in the beginning, and then they just do it on their own.”
The result was MULABS, a student organization focused on providing hands-on education to elementary and middle school students in the Oxford community. Patel (the founding member) and other volunteers design short workshops and teach them to students at Kramer Elementary and Talawanda Middle School with the help of teachers and parents. Participants get the chance to learn new skills and practice new activities on their own terms.
“They don't have to sit and read a book, they just do it,” Patel said. “And if they make mistakes, it's fine. We have more supplies, and they just learn that way. It's incredibly fun.”
While completing a summer internship at the National Institutes of Health, Patel began drafting the organization’s constitution and finalizing the groundwork that would become MULABS. In total they've hosted eight workshops with six people assisting Patel to design and teach each one. With graduation approaching this spring, he’s hoping that his mission and the connection with local schools will continue to thrive, especially after seeing the impact it’s had on students.
“This one girl, it was her first time coming to one of the meetings with her grandpa,” Patel said of his favorite MULABS moment so far. “It was just a very small interaction, but she told me that this was the first time where she ever felt like she was learning something very useful to her that (she) felt like she could do at home. And at that moment, I was very, very happy.”
In recognition of the work they do in the community, Patel’s advisor even reached out to him with an opportunity to help participate in STEM Day at Hefner Museum of Natural History. MULABS was given a chance to help execute an all-day event where third graders could take tours and participate in activities at special stations.
Although his plans will take him away from Ohio to the University of Arkansas for medical school, Patel’s goal is to promote health literacy and education wherever he ends up. He envisions chapters of MULABS all over the country, something that his younger siblings would certainly enjoy.
“I feel like (this) was only possible through Miami, because we live in such a small town,” Patel said on the effect MULABS has made on the community. “Everything I did, I felt like I had an impact right away. I feel like I didn't get lost in the crowd at all.”
“When I got to Miami, I had so many labs, (nearly) every day I had to go to a two-hour lab,” Patel said. “Initially, it was hard, but I feel like what I learned there helped me a lot when I was going back to lecture. And so I was like, maybe this is something that could help younger kids as well.”
Patel has two younger siblings, a sister and a brother. When he’s home, he enjoys putting together activities for them to do, one particular favorite being circuit building.
“So this inspired me to think, ‘what if I did that for more kids,’” Patel said. “I could design a workshop where they have to put a circuit together from scratch, and they figure out how electricity works and how power works, and I give them a brief lecture in the beginning, and then they just do it on their own.”
The result was MULABS, a student organization focused on providing hands-on education to elementary and middle school students in the Oxford community. Patel (the founding member) and other volunteers design short workshops and teach them to students at Kramer Elementary and Talawanda Middle School with the help of teachers and parents. Participants get the chance to learn new skills and practice new activities on their own terms.
“They don't have to sit and read a book, they just do it,” Patel said. “And if they make mistakes, it's fine. We have more supplies, and they just learn that way. It's incredibly fun.”
While completing a summer internship at the National Institutes of Health, Patel began drafting the organization’s constitution and finalizing the groundwork that would become MULABS. In total they've hosted eight workshops with six people assisting Patel to design and teach each one. With graduation approaching this spring, he’s hoping that his mission and the connection with local schools will continue to thrive, especially after seeing the impact it’s had on students.
“This one girl, it was her first time coming to one of the meetings with her grandpa,” Patel said of his favorite MULABS moment so far. “It was just a very small interaction, but she told me that this was the first time where she ever felt like she was learning something very useful to her that (she) felt like she could do at home. And at that moment, I was very, very happy.”
In recognition of the work they do in the community, Patel’s advisor even reached out to him with an opportunity to help participate in STEM Day at Hefner Museum of Natural History. MULABS was given a chance to help execute an all-day event where third graders could take tours and participate in activities at special stations.
Although his plans will take him away from Ohio to the University of Arkansas for medical school, Patel’s goal is to promote health literacy and education wherever he ends up. He envisions chapters of MULABS all over the country, something that his younger siblings would certainly enjoy.
“I feel like (this) was only possible through Miami, because we live in such a small town,” Patel said on the effect MULABS has made on the community. “Everything I did, I felt like I had an impact right away. I feel like I didn't get lost in the crowd at all.”
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