Conn's teachers enjoy the support provided by Helix I , a van outfitted to be a mobile molecular biology lab that comes complete with equipment, supplies, and a program staff member. The van visits the classroom of workshop alumni to help with the initial implementation of a four-week unit in molecular biology. Helix winds its way around the San Francisco bay courtesy of Genentech, which donated and outfitted the vehicle. Another supporting component is ESP, the Educator-Scientist Program. Teachers return to CityLab with their students, who are challenged with a problem, often posed as a 'whodunit' mystery.
Students apply their molecular biology sleuthing skills in the lab to solve the problem.
CityLab also serves as a site for workshops targeting other audiences. While CityLab covers the Boston area, Walt Fehr at Iowa State University works to cover an entire state by bringing three-day workshops to 15 different sites in Iowa. Fehr welcomes all teachers, K-12, and features experiments ranging from using recombinant rennet to make cheese, to more advanced DNA manipulations. Fehr's Office of Biotechnology at ISU is working with the Area Education Agencies, Iowa's system of Community Colleges, and the Cooperative Extension Service to provide continuing support for teachers following the workshop. The Public Education Program in Biotechnology is funded by several corporations, commodity boards, and foundations.