Whale of a Mystery

BSU CityLab offers a week-long, daytime biotechnology outreach program for middle school students called Whale of a Mystery.  Students entering grades 6-9 in the fall are eligible to apply. 

Two separate one-week sessions will be offered:

Session I, July 7-11, 2014

Session II, July 14-18, 2014

The program meets daily, from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, at Bridgewater State University.

The fee of $400 per student does not include lunch or transportation. 

A limited number of need-based scholarships will be available. 

Bridgewater State University Faculty and Staff get a discount applied to final payment.

Deposit due with registration.

To apply online (pay by credit card or electronic check): 
Online Application

Please remember if you are applying for a scholarship, you must fill out the application online as well as complete and return the application Part B. 

Part B can be printed here.

This popular program, with a biotechnology and whale theme, draws many applicants from the region and provides an interdisciplinary mix of science, math and language arts. 

Students are "hired" as employees of the Bridgewater Animal Forensic Laboratory (BAFL) and are called upon to solve a “mystery.”   They work in groups of three to determine if a sample of “whale meat" is from an endangered species that has been sold illegally in a foreign fish market. 

Monday through Thursday are spent in the lab analyzing samples, deciphering results and writing up reports.  Friday morning is spent preparing materials for the afternoon's "congressional hearing," to which parents, grandparents, etc. are invited as well!

The program meets daily from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm on the Bridgewater State University campus.  Most activities take place in the CityLab facility in the new Conant Science and Mathematics Center on Park Avenue .

If you would like to be added to the mailing list for future summer offerings, please contact Kim McCoy by email kmccoy@bridgew.edu or phone (508)531-2630

Whale Resource Links

This page was updated on January 21, 2014