Curiosity Labs

Curiosity Labs™

As a leading life science company, we provide scientists and engineers with the best-in-class lab materials, technologies and services.

As part of our Sustainability and Social Business Innovation work, we have a commitment to science education programs and are passionate about sparking curiosity in the next generation of scientists. Our science education outreach programs are modeled on the principles of inclusion and equity. We focus on underrepresented populations in science, including people of color and women. We model this behavior as diverse leaders and volunteers work directly with students in their own communities. We want to inspire young students by showing them that scientists all over the world, who look just like them, are working to create a better tomorrow.

The foundation of our science education programming is Curiosity Labs™, a program that engages students with hands on, inquiry-based learning, applies scientific concepts to “real world” settings and connects classrooms to professionals in various scientific fields. We provide all the necessary materials and equipment at no cost for our trained employee volunteers to facilitate full science lessons collaboratively developed with life science employees and education experts.

Explore the site to learn more about Curiosity Labs™, get to know a few of our scientists and learn how to become a Partner School.

Overview

The Curiosity Labs™ program offers a “menu” of lessons that is updated on a continual basis. Teachers have the opportunity to choose a lesson topic; ensuring lessons correspond with current classroom content. All lessons are developed with Life Science employees and education experts, aligning to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). They encourage students to use their own curiosity and the scientific method to answer questions. We offer both in class and on site lessons at no cost, but schools are responsible for transportation to and from lessons hosted at our facilities.

On Site Lessons

Hosted at an approved company site at no cost
A Curiosity Lab™ lesson is led by trained employees and includes a tour of the facility
Schools are responsible for transportation to and from our premise
Q&A with employees on career opportunities and general STEM topics
Details vary by site and teacher preference, but visits are typically 2-3 hours

In Class Lessons

Trained employees travel to the school with all the materials and equipment needed for the lesson at no cost
Each lesson is designed to last one class period(45-60 minutes), but we typically facilitate several consecutive lessons to fill one teacher’s classes for the day
A Curiosity Lab™ lesson is led by trained employee volunteers and provides students the opportunity to meet and learn from STEM professionals

Meet Our Scientists

Slide 1 of 5

Caroline
Technical Specialist

St. Louis, MO, USA

Caroline enjoys being able to share her passion for science education and an unlikely path to her current career work within the exciting field of genetic engineering.

James
Communications Champion

Glasgow, Scotland, UK

James uses his background in microbiology and experience with young adults coaching American football to inspire the next generation of scientists. He enjoys leading Curiosity Labs™ and seeing the look on students’ faces when they create a chemiluminescent reaction for the first time or engineer a successful water filtration unit.

Sherita
Operations Integration Scientist for Custom and New Product Support

St. Louis, MO, USA

Sherita is passionate about connecting students to scientists, because this connection was something she felt was lacking in her own early education. She loves the endless nature of discovery in her career and that as a scientist she never stops learning.

Christopher
Scientist, Production Sr in Quality Control

Milwaukee, WI, USA

Christopher volunteers with Curiosity Labs™ to make science more relatable and accessible and to help students realize they can be a scientist if they want to be. He enjoys investigating science to not only explain why things are the way they are, but also to lay the groundwork for the way things could be.

Palaniraja
Senior Scientist / Lab Operations

Bangalore, India

Palaniraja volunteers with Curiosity Labs™ because he loves creating interest in science and sparking curiosity in young minds. Science intrigues him because “there is always something new and interesting to discover and the journey to get there can be really exciting”.

Information for Teachers

The Curiosity Lab™ lessons are designed to supplement your classroom curriculum. We find that students are able to receive the most value from our lessons when they have at least baseline knowledge of the topic. Our lessons were written for an audience of students ages 8-13, but they can be adjusted with your input to best fit your students’ needs. We will work with teachers prior to entering the classroom to ensure our volunteers are able to maximize their time with students.

If you have any questions, please email us at curiositylabs@milliporesigma.com