State Hygienic Laboratory – University of Iowa

Grant Summary:

The iExplore Laboratory Science initiative will provide opportunities for middle level (grades 6-8) students in the underserved populations in Iowa to both deepen their content understanding in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and explore career opportunities in environmental and public health laboratory science, through real-world, hands-on laboratory science experiences. Funding from TCI will be used to: 1) Increase awareness of the variety of STEM career pathways, with a focus on public health laboratory science careers; 2) Increase opportunities to expose students from rural communities to real-world public health laboratory science experiences; and 3) Develop an understanding of the relationship between the school science curriculum and the type of work laboratorians do at the State Hygienic Laboratory (SHL) at the University of Iowa as they engage in public health laboratory science careers.