A mission of the RAWC Lab is make contributions towards the development of the next generation of scientists. One avenue this is achieved by in the RAWC Lab is via undergraduate research. Another, more subtle, avenue is via outreach into the community. Currently Dr. Willand-Charnley is a science communications fellow through South Dakota EPSCoR.
South Dakota EPSCoR “promotes and supports educators, research faculty and programs in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).” Willand-Charnley is currently developing free curriculum aimed to enhance resources for STEM teachers. The activities being developed specifically are designed to help K-12 educators implement inquiry based learning experiences that will ultimately facilitate interest in K-12 students to pursue STEM careers (STEM Education Portal).
The RAWC Lab Attends "Meet a Scientist" Event
The RAWC Lab recently participated in “Meet a Scientist” at the Discovery Center as a Science Communication Fellow. This outreach event entailed teaching grade schoolers about the exciting research that is being performed at the major research institutions around the state. Students participated in learning about making robots from simply house hold materials, how cancer’s mimic healthy cells to avoid the immune system (the RAWC lab), played Plinko to learn how Nano-medicine works (see Dr. Reine’s lab page for more information), about plant biology and about acid-base chemistry.
