The Lawrence Hall of Science
The public science center of the University of California, Berkeley.
Wednesday–Sunday 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Animal Discovery Zone 11:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. View Additional Hours >
We’ll bring our science programs to you.
We partner with school districts to support science learning. We offer district-wide elementary, middle, and high school programs, either virtually or in-person.
We collaborate with a range of partners to innovate in science education. Together, we go further.
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Are you curious about how doctors diagnose and treat illnesses or how scientists innovate to help people with chronic diseases and other conditions? In this program, you will deepen your knowledge of body systems, investigate how some of these systems may break down, and explore how scientists and engineers are working to solve these problems. Together we will use actual diagnostic techniques to solve medical mysteries for fictitious patients. Dissect a simulated heart, step inside a blood vessel and a cell in our Planetarium, and interview practicing doctors to learn more about their field. Also, we will learn about CRISPR, a current gene-editing technology, and acquire skills for designing and prototyping a prosthetic hand. Parents are invited at 4 p.m. on the last day to see and hear teens share their projects and receive their U.C. Berkeley certificate of completion.
Your days begin with gathering on campus and signing in to your respective program tracks. From there, you head to your respective lab spaces and form an opening circle to frame the day, including a quick social check-in and content-related invitation to learning. Each day, you get to engage in STEM-related explorations and investigations, sometimes in pairs and sometimes in small groups. You do things such as dissecting a sheep heart, closely observing human brains, and conducting brain science investigations. Later in the week you will be building model lungs or a model digestive system, doing a DNA extraction, or running patient diagnostics. Midday, you take time to eat lunch on campus and enjoy some social downtime with peers in your track as well as other STEM tracks. Afternoons continue investigations and incorporate tours to related labs, museum exhibits, and sites on and off campus. Some days include graduate students or faculty joining you for Q&A and sharing about cutting-edge research happening on or off campus. Your STEM track content wraps up with a closing circle around 3:30 p.m. After that, you gather together for additional unique career pathway programming in mixed groups. This can include a U.C. Berkeley campus tour, a current student panel and Q&A, and other personal or professional development workshops. Programming concludes at 5 p.m. If you opt for the residential track, you will stay on campus for dinner and evening activities— both involving social as well as college preparedness—and then sleep in the U.C. Berkeley dorms.
Gaby Arango
B. Gabriella Arango, who goes by Gaby, was born and raised in Guadalajara, Mexico. She started her undergraduate education at Santa Rosa Junior College, where she earned an AS and then transferred to Sonoma State University to finish her Undergraduate and then Masters Degree. There she studied the diving physiology in olive ridley sea turtles and her main research interest is the physiological adaptations for hypoxia tolerance, specifically those of sea turtles.
Gaby is the Founder and CEO of Crecer ConCiencia, a non profit organization based in Santa Rosa focused on Leadership development and science outreach efforts to the Latinx community. Her favorite hobbies are cooking and collecting succulents.
Isabel De Klerk
Isabel De Klerk is a Bay Area native and rising sophomore undergrad student at the University of California, Berkeley. She is majoring in chemical biology with an intended concentration in computational chemistry. Isabel is passionate about public health and the biomedical sciences and has worked as a crisis intervention counselor and health education instructor. At Berkeley, Isabel provides students with professional development opportunities as a member of the American Chemical Society Corporate Outreach Committee and with creative outlets as a layout designer for the STEM magazine Atrium. Currently, she’s exploring careers in public health, biotech, policy, and education, with the hope of landing in a job that promotes wellness and improves global health. Isabel loves talking about recent innovations and sharing her favorite biology fun-facts, and is committed to making STEM education exciting and accessible. She hopes that as a public education specialist she can encourage students to pursue a STEM education that combines a strong science background with innovative problem solving.
In her free time, you can find her improving upon her cooking skills, searching thrift stores for clothes or trinkets, and trying out all of Berkeley’s cafés. If she’s not in Berkeley, you’ll find her back home taking her dog Juno for a walk or exploring San Francisco with friends.