ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- A program called "Science of the Slam" uses basketball to make sure kids in Rochester city schools don't pass on science and math.
John Drazan is a scientist who also played four years of basketball at SUNY Geneseo. He was out Friday at Nathaniel Rochester Community School No. 3 leading some on-court drills, and showing the science behind the sport.
"Right now, when kids think about scientists, they think about going to Mars, building an iPhone, but in reality, science is just about asking and answering questions about the world around you," Drazan said.
Drazan is STEM director at 4th Family Inc., a not-for profit group with a goal of empowering and engaging young people.
"That's the ultimate goal. We want to teach kids that science and scientists aren't always in the lab," said Jason George, Edison Tech. "You can be outside the lab and be a scientist."
"I'd be tutoring someone who was failing biology, and then we'd start talking talking about how Lebron James dunks like he does," Drazan said. "And I'd come in the next week and hear one kid talking to another about how your muscles work on a molecular or cellular level."
Drazan hopes to teach his program to local school administrators, who can then take the ball and run with it.