In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Wisconsin MRSEC developed and disseminated inclusive science activity kits. The project started in partnership with a local food pantry as an effort to engage with economically disadvantaged members of the Madison community. Food pantry staff and clients provided crucial insight to make the kits accessible and inclusive, such as including all the necessary materials including common household items like tape and including instructions in Spanish and English.
Education and Outreach
(2022) A Teacher Inspired by Her MRSEC RET Program Experience Develops Her Own Research Experience
Jamie Lauer, a Wisconsin (WI) high school teacher, participated in the MRSEC’s cross-cultural Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program in 2019 and 2021. The program is run in collaboration with the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM) to give teachers in WI and PR authentic research experiences in labs at UPRM and in MRSEC. During the 2019 RET capstone week, Jamie traveled to PR where she learned about the geography, culture and educational systems of the island. During the virtual 2021 program, Jamie learned about the native Taino people of PR.
Free, Informative Online Workshop: “Enhancing Undergraduate Research with Machine Learning”
Please join us for a free, informative online workshop “Enhancing Undergraduate Research with Machine Learning” on Saturday, October 22 from 11 am -1 pm (CT).
Online Field Trips Bring Science to the State
For more than ten years, the Field Trip Program has brought students and teachers to Madison, Wis., for a day of activity and exploration. But when the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered on-campus activity, the Discovery Outreach Team had to get creative. This spring, more than 28 Field Trips will connect students statewide to researchers using an entirely online model. The post Online Field Trips bring science to the state appeared first on Morgridge Institute for Research. Read the full article at: https://morgridge.org/story/online-field-trips-bring-science-to-the-state/
Winners of the MRSEC Educational Video Competition Announced
The winners of the Wisconsin MRSEC Educational Video Competition have been announced. There were two videos awarded in this competition. The winner of the Most Engaging Video is “Thin Film Fun” by the Ediger Group. The winner for Most Informative Video is “Determining Distances with Diffraction” by Tesia Janicki.
News Segment Features MRSEC Efforts to Provide the Value of Field Trips Virtually
WMTV in Green County, an NBC affiliate, featured some of MRSEC’s work on its recent news segment, “Schools taking more virtual field trips during COVID-19 pandemic.”
(2020) Sparking Student Interest: Renewable Energy Devices in the Classroom
The Wisconsin MRSEC has developed a simple, inexpensive way for K-12 students to build a sustainable energy device using familiar, everyday materials including aluminum foil, a plastic egg, clear tape, and a bouncy ball. The device, called a triboelectric nanogenerator, converts the often-wasted energy of motion into useful electrical energy.
MRSEC Educational Video Competition Accepting Submissions
The Wisconsin MRSEC Educational Video Competition has been launched to promote online science and engineering outreach in the current environment of social distancing where the majority of students are receiving science enrichment at home. The deadline to submit videos is January 20, 2021.
2020 BREW Focuses on Data and Generating Ideas for Science-at-Home Videos
The 2020 Breakthrough Research and Education Workshop (BREW) was held on Thursday, October 1st. 74 faculty, graduate students, postdocs, guest presenters, and staff attended. One of the themes of this year’s BREW was the use of data and machine learning in materials science. The second half of the event was the education workshop.
(2020) Research Endeavors, Cross-Cultural Experiences, and Educational Activities
The Wisconsin MRSEC Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program is a cross-cultural collaboration with the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez (UPRM). The RET program provides science teachers from Wisconsin and Puerto Rico an authentic research and cultural literacy professional development experience. The program culminates with an in-person capstone week where the RETs from both sites share the research-inspired classroom activities they have developed and learn from one another about teaching in a different cultural and geographic environment. The teachers learn about the area and culture that is unique to the site hosting the capstone.