Fostering Tomorrow's Innovators since 2009

Live Virtual Workshops

We are excited to take our professional development virtual! You can earn CEUs in multiple ways while learning a range of topics to help you plan for instruction, whether remote, in person, or somewhere in between.


  • Baxter Box @ Home
    Join us for a virtual workshop and receive materials and equipment to test out labs in your own home. By applying to this program, you will have an chance to plan with a community of educators to creatively design ways of bringing back engaging science experiences to your virtual, hybrid, or in-person classroom! (Learn More)

  • Science Course Meetups
    Let’s get together virtually and plan! We know teachers work best when they work together. Since teachers don’t always have a course team to work with we’re providing the space and resources for teachers across the Chicago area to get together and talk about teaching this fall. Topics include Biotech, Forensics & Criminology, and Middle School Science. (Learn More)

  • Workshops from Teachers, for Teachers
    The Baxter Center is requesting proposals from teachers to share a science or manufacturing education lesson with the community. Chicago area K-12 educators! Do you have an idea for a professional learning workshop? Would you like to build your education leadership skills and experience? The Baxter Center is putting out an open call for proposals for new workshops for Chicago area K-12 teachers with an interest in science and manufacturing teaching and learning. Accepted teachers will join the Baxter Center’s community of teacher leaders to develop upon their ideas. Support will be provided during the summer of 2021 to then share their workshops in the Fall of 2021. Participants will be compensated for their time. We encourage those who with no experience to apply as well! Participants will engage in this opportunity remotely during the summer. Fall workshops may be offered remotely or in-person in accordance with state, university, and district guidelines. (Learn More)

Workshops from Teachers, for Teachers

Request for Proposals to share science or manufacturing education lessons with the community.

 

Chicago area K-12 educators! Do you have an idea for a professional learning workshop? Would you like to build your education leadership skills and experience? The Baxter Center is putting out an open call for proposals for new workshops for Chicago area K-12 teachers with an interest in science and manufacturing teaching and learning.

 

Learn More

On Demand Virtual Workshops

Earn continuing education credits (in IL) for watching bite-sized professional learning videos on your own time! Here’s how it works:


  1. Watch the video.
  2. Write and submit a reflection on how what you watched could be used with your students.
  3. Complete and submit an ISBE evaluation!
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Baxter Box Program


Introducing Baxter Box Demo Kits

If you have ever attended a workshop with us, you are eligible to borrow a demo version of our Baxter Boxes. You will receive a single set of equipment (e.g. 1 of each size pipette, 1 gel box, 1 thermocycler) and an entire classroom set of lab reagents (e.g. PCR supplies for 8 lab groups) to play around with at home.

Learn More

Our Work in the Chicagoland Area

2198
Total teachers trained
1200
Baxter Box lab kits distributed
1187
Chicago Public School teachers trained
since 2009
164,000
estimated students reached
340
Total schools reached
127
Total workshops

What our teachers are saying

The BCSE allows teachers to stay up to date with the advancement of technology in science. By helping the teachers stay up to date and by providing activities that can be implanted into the classroom, it allows the future generation to have exposure to new developments in biotechnology at a young age. This hopefully will inspire the students to pursue careers in science.
The BCSE helps out teachers who teach at schools with limited resources get the resources and instructive know how they otherwise would not be able to obtain.
Holy moly, this center is GREAT! I appreciate your outreach, enthusiasm, and expertise. It is really amazing to have this kind of access to a research institution and you are all so helpful in making this type of science accessible to our students.

Our Team

Emily Ferrin, Ph.D.

Program Director & Resident Scientist

Baxter Center for Science Education

Ashley Walter, M.S.

Program & Partnership Coordinator

Baxter Center for Science Education

Natalie Bueno, B.S.

Program & Partnership Coordinator

Baxter Center for Science Education

Amy D. Pratt, Ph.D.

Assistant Dean for Community Education Partnerships

School of Education and Social Policy

Sachin Pradhan M.S.

Software Developer

Office of Community Education Partnerships

Emily DePalma, M.Ed.

Manager of Programs and Operations

Office of Community Education Partnerships

Jennifer Richards Ph.D.

Research Assistant Professor

School of Education and Social Policy

Natalie Turner

Administrative Aid

Office of Community Education Partnerships