by Janice McDonnell, Marissa Staffenova, Chad Ripberger, David Shernoff, Marycarmen Kunicki, Denise Bressler, and Christine Bean.

Ambassadors analyze human bones to solve a simulated crime scene.
The Rutgers University 4-H STEM Ambassadors program is a collaborative partnership between New Jersey public schools in urban communities in Paterson, Newark, Union, New Brunswick, Atlantic City, and Trenton and the Rutgers Cooperative Extension program. The program was designed to support America’s research and innovation capacity by increasing the participation of underrepresented minorities in science and engineering. In this article, we share some preliminary evidence that progress toward this goal is being achieved through the Ambassadors program.
Editor’s Note: this article originally appeared in Connected Science Learning.