The Annenberg High School Science Symposium is a program designed to promote discourse among high school science students in the the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Started in 2005, each hospital in the Main Line Health system hosts an annual event to promote science and medicine to local high schools.
This year, we have 16 high schools participating. The program is punctuated by a fall kick-off event, meetings with mentors in specialized medical fields, and a final presentation. In their presentations students incorporate an element of the creative arts, which have included drama, song, visual art, ballet, and video production. The integration of art and science is a means of visually demonstrating science, simplifying complexity, and engaging the audience. The final event gives students the opportunity to present their medical research and creative component to a panel of judges.
This opportunity allows students from participating high schools to emerge as leaders, engage with medical discovery, and use creative performance as an outlet to communicate their findings.