Outreach

The CEMB is dedicated to sharing our science with the general public, from children to adults, through community science outreach. Our faculty, trainees, and staff have led demonstrations at the Philadelphia Science Festival in Clark Park, brought our science to local classrooms, and given talks at Science Cafes.

If you are interested in participating in our outreach efforts or would like to have our researchers speak with your group, contact us today for more information.

Our partnership with The Franklin Institute has evolved over the years, from demonstrations at the Philadelphia Science Festival to teaching high school students in the STEM Scholars program. Today, we are developing a Mechanobiology Mobile Museum Exhibit, with the expected public launch in 2025. Click through our slideshow to learn more about CEMB’s activities with TFI over the years.

Each year, students from Washington University-CEMB’s research experiences for undergraduates program help lead a two-part workshop that provides hands-on demonstrations about the mechanobiology of the Venus Flytrap for the WashU Pre-Engineering Summer program, an outreach and STEM pipeline event that targets high school students from under-represented and resource-limited backgrounds.

By preparing lectures and serving as lab assistants of “Lunch with a Venus Flytrap,” CEMB REU students also gain experience in the communication of basic STEM principles. This workshop has also been led by CEMB faculty to special interest groups, such as the Mid-Atlantic Carnivorous Plant Society.

At Penn, we partner with the Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter to present occasional faculty talks in a pub-setting in Philadelphia. At WashU, faculty present talks in the Teen Science Cafe Network.