More than 100 West Michigan middle school students will be doing real scientific research over the next two years with help from a National Science Foundation grant intended to promote careers in science and technology.
Calvin College won a $722,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to run the program, which it is dubbing the Team Researcher in a Globe-al Environment, or TRIAGE.
Rachel Sytsma Reed, an assistant professor in education at Calvin, is the program coordinator. She said the time is right for this project for West Michigan.
"I feel like all of the pieces of the puzzle are right here in West Michigan," she said. "There is so much happening right now. This area has the potential to be an amazing scientific hotspot. I believe TRIAGE is part of that puzzle and can make a big contribution to what's happening here."
Students will collect data for existing projects, develop data entry and analysis skills, design and execute their own research projects, and engage in team-building activities using resources, games, and exhibits in the Bunker Center.
Each month will include presentations and off-site tours utilizing business partners and advisory board members' community connections. The entire TRIAGE program is extra-curricular, occurring after school and during the summer.
Calvin is one of seven prestigious institutions across the country to receive the funds as part of the NSF Academy for Young Scientists program (other institutions include the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University and the University of Chicago).
The 100-120 students in the program (two years of participants at approximately 60 students per year) will be part of a group of only 700 to 800 students nationwide with a similar opportunity.
TRIAGE teams, made up of students from Forest Hills Public Schools, Grand Rapids Catholic Schools, Grand Rapids Christian Schools, Grand Rapids Public Schools and Wyoming Public Schools will utilize the Bunker Interpretive Center and Ecosystem Preserve at Calvin for their home base.
Source: Calvin College
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