About Meet the Lab

Science
Grades 6-8

Learning Goals

By using project resources, learners will

Connect

Make connections between lab research and why it matters in real life.

Apply

Identify scientific practices researchers use and apply these same practices to classroom experiments.

Relate

Identify strengths in science, and relate to people in science careers.

Project Background

Meet The Lab is a collection of educational resources for middle school science classrooms, and is a collaboration between PBS Wisconsin Education, Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and the Morgridge Institute for Research.

This collection introduces students to relevant real-world issues, cutting edge research and the human element—the people working together to research, innovate and solve problems using science.

This collection supports national and state science standards, and creates opportunities for learners to develop their STEAM identity (“Who do I think I am, who can I be, where do I belong?” in context of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math). See our Educator Engagement Guide for more details.

Featured Labs

Optical Microscopy in Medicine Lab

This lab develops new methods to understand and combat cancer using photonics-based technologies (lasers!)

Tiny Earth Lab

This lab discovers new antibiotics through the soil, using a global network of students and instructors to source samples and conduct field research (student scientists!)

Get Started

Activate the Collection

1

Check out the project background and learning goals.

2

Explore the Educator Engagement Guides to gather inspiration.

3

Visit the lab pages with learners and dive into the content.

Connect with us!

We’d love to know how you’re using these resources.

Email PBS Wisconsin Education, or tag us on Twitter with your comments or images of student work!

“We’re all already scientists…

because we’re all constantly doing experiments in our own lives to see what will happen. You have the talent to be a scientist. It doesn’t matter when you figure that out, that door is always open for you.”

Julia Nepper, Tiny Earth Lab

Partner Organizations

The Morgridge Institute for Research is an independent biomedical institute exploring uncharted scientific territory to improve human health through innovative, interdisciplinary biomedical discoveries, and to spark scientific curiosity and serve society through translational outcomes, in partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) is a mission-driven organization that supports scientific research within the UW–Madison community by partnering with UW–Madison to steward the cycle of research, discovery, commercialization and investment.

The mission of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery (WID) is to discover and inspire through interdisciplinary research conducted in a dynamic, collaborative community. WID advances frontiers of knowledge, accelerates the development of solutions, and engages the State of Wisconsin through interdisciplinary research.