I-MRSEC Creative Materials Program

The I-MRSEC has an annual outreach program at local pubic middle school Franklin STEAM Academy. Over the 7-8 weeks of the program, the participating 7th and 8th grade classes have visits by I-MRSEC faculty, postdocs, and students several times per week to bring engaging, hands-on lessons related to materials science. Interspersed with the visits are “creative” days where students express the materials science concepts they’ve learned through the arts, such as drawing, comics, and poetry. Students in the program also have a field trip to visit Materials Research Lab on the Illinois campus, home of the I-MRSEC.