The Baxter Box Program
Our goal is to advance equity in STEM education by increasing access to authentic science experiences for students. We do this by providing resources to teachers at Cook and Lake County public schools that serve students in grades 6-12, specifically those that have been historically under-represented in STEM, such as communities with high Black, Indigenous and other People of Color (BIPOC) and low income populations.
The Baxter Box program is a way for teachers to borrow materials and equipment for biology and biotechnology labs for FREE! Workshop participation is highly recommended but not required.
Interested in bringing a Baxter Box to your classroom? Just put in a request to reserve a Baxter Box on our website and we will be happy to deliver and pick up materials. Please note that requests need to be confirmed. Training for Baxter Box labs are available through our professional learning workshops as well as our online resource hub.
Questions? Contact bcse@northwestern.edu
The Baxter Box Program will be closed for summer June 8 through August 9. All spring semester boxes will be picked up by June 7.
- There is power in sharing! We encourage teachers to share tips/tricks, lesson plans, etc.
- Our materials have traveled all across Chicagoland! It is important that we remember these resources are shared and often given to another classroom quickly after you are done with them. We appreciate everyone taking care of these supplies so we can reach more classrooms together!
- We want this to be a fun experience for you and your students! To do that, please let us know how you envision bringing your Baxter Box to your classroom so that we provide everything you need to successfully implement a lab. No detail is too much - we encourage over communication!
- Lab Newbie: Just dipping your toes into the biotech lab water? The Baxter Center is able to provide lab guides, tips, tricks, and even come into the classroom to support. We often recommend starting with basics like learning pipetting technique.
- Workshop Attendee: A great way to try out the lab and think through what it would look like in your own classroom is to come to one of our workshops first! We will run the lab together, talk through the science and implementation.
- Lab Pro: Some teachers have experience with these types of labs from previous education, research, or work experience. They still have access to our shared resource hub for lab guides and previous workshops.
- Veteran: Many teachers that have tried out these labs have incorporated them into their annual curriculum, schedule, and budget. By building up your own inventory of lab equipment over time, or receiving a grant to purchase equipment, you can help keep this program sustainable as we reach more teachers and students!
Planning my Baxter Box
- What should I do before making a reservation?
- We encourage teachers to attend our free workshops to test out and learn about our lab activities. We understand that not every lab will be covered so we highly encourage you to take a look at the teacher manuals or work with us to see what labs and equipment will work best for your students.
- How far in advance should I make a reservation?
- For typical reservations of 1-4 kits, we ask that you reserve materials at least two weeks in advance. For larger requests, please email us so we can discuss your idea and see what is possible. If you aren't able to reserve materials two weeks in advance, you can always email us and we will try our best!
- I’m not familiar with labs available through the program but want to try it out! Could I get some help?
- Yes! The Baxter Center provides free professional development workshops for Chicago area educators to test out Baxter Box activities. Can’t make it? Email us and we’d be happy to provide resources and space to learn more about our labs.
- Do I have to attend a workshop in order to reserve equipment?
- Workshop participation is highly recommended but not required.
- Yikes! Some of these labs seem a bit challenging? How can I bring something like gel electrophoresis into my middle school classroom?
- Please reach out to us! We have a community of amazing teachers who have brought these labs to their middle school classroom and have some fun tips and tricks you would be interested in.
- Where do these labs come from?
- We typically purchase labs through third party vendors such as Bio-Rad, miniPCR bio, Carolina, Edvotek. They provide some amazing materials! Our goal is to provide you materials for free with supplemental support.
- How does delivery / drop off work?
- The Baxter Center team is happy to drop off and pick up materials directly from your school! When you make a reservation, the website requires you to choose a Monday or Friday for delivery and/or pick up. We will reach out to you to confirm the exact day of delivery/pick up ahead of time. We most often leave supplies at the main office/security.
- Can someone help in my classroom?
- Yes! We understand that a great deal of work goes into running a lab activity with your students. That is why we are available to support our educators through the process. We can help...
- Plan the activity.
- Scaffold the materials and concepts for your students.
- Figure out what materials you need and how to prepare them.
- Run the lab as your assistant.
- Troubleshoot on the fly.
- Dispose properly of materials.
- We love working with you and your students! To make the most of this experiment, we hope that you will run the lab activity and we’ll be a background support.
- Yes! We understand that a great deal of work goes into running a lab activity with your students. That is why we are available to support our educators through the process. We can help...
Baxter Box Care
- How should I store my Baxter Box?
- Some items are temperature sensitive! Please be on the lookout for consumables that should be stored in a fridge or freezer. Typically these are provided in our Baxter Center cooler lunch bags with an ice pack.
- Oh no! I and/or one of my students broke a piece of equipment! What should I do?
- No worries! We understand that accidents can happen, just please leave a note on the equipment impacted and give us a heads up over email.
- How should I pack my Baxter Box?
- Please pack it up as you found it! You could help us and other teachers in the following ways
- Throw away any gels in the trash, wipe dry all of the components from your electrophoresis systems.
- Place the pipettes back in the boxes. If any were twisted out of range, please leave a note and let us know!
- Return any unused consumables unless you have an immediate need for them.
- Please return all pipette tip boxes, even if empty! We will refill them for the next teacher.
- Please pack up the microliter madness kits (silicone gels, practice cards, template sheets, food coloring containers, petri dishes). You can return your used tips (food coloring only) in the provided bag. Do not put used tips back into the tip boxes.
- How should I dispose of items in my lab?
- Most used pipette tips, centrifuge tubes, paper towels can be disposed of in the trash, however please reference the vendors safety data sheets typically found on their website. Labs that involve bacteria require a bleach bath for all materials that come in contact with bacteria.
- Pipette tips that were ONLY used for pipetting food coloring + water, when learning to pipette, can be returned to us for re-use. Please put them in a labeled ziploc bag, not in the pipette tips boxes.
Scope & Guidelines
- Is there a limit to how many labs I can borrow in a year?
- We would love to supply everyone with all the science materials in the world!! However we have a limited budget and capacity to be able to run this program. To be good stewards of our resources, we will have to balance how we use and prioritize materials across the Chicago area. We are able to provide up to 10 kits per school per year, not including learning to pipette kits (microliter madness).
- What if I want more than 10 kits a year?
- If you are interested in more than that, we will work with you to make sure we’re still creating a sustainable impact for everyone. Equity is at the forefront of our work. With that, we want to be able to prioritize our resources to schools with students that come from low-income backgrounds and communities of color.
- My co-teachers and I are really interested in testing out one of the labs available through the Baxter Box program! We will need 5+ kits. Is this something we can order through the program?
- If you’re looking to run something with more than 5 or more kits or across multiple sections / school wide, please email us at bcse@northwestern.
- What if I am a private school teacher or an out of school educator?
- We prioritize supporting public schools, but if our capacity allows, we are happy to help you try out a lab!
- What if my school is outside of Cook or Lake County?
- Our delivery range is limited at this time to Cook and Lake County.
- What if I am a K-5 educator?
- As much as we love elementary school educators, the materials we provide in the Baxter Box program are beyond the scope of the elementary school experience.
- How can I help make this a sustainable program for all?
- We understand that getting funding for a new lab can be hard and we want to provide these labs at no cost so you can test them out and see if they are a good fit for your classroom. If these labs are something you are interested in doing year over year, let’s talk about how to get funding to build up your own inventory of equipment and supplies. Our wish is to create a sustainable, long lasting impact for all Chicago area classrooms.
Baxter Center’s DIY Candy Dye Gel Electrophoresis
BioRad’s Crime Scene Investigator PCR Basics
BioRad’s ELISA Immuno Explorer
BioRad’s Forensic DNA Fingerprinting
BioRad’s Out of the Blue CRISPR Kit
BioRad’s pGLO Bacterial Transformation Kit
BioRad’s Photosynthesis & Cellular Respiration Kit
Biorad's Science of Opioid Dependence Kit
Carolina’s ABO-Rh Typing with Synthetic Blood Kit
Carolina’s Antibiotic Sensitivity Kit
Edvotek’s Cancer Gene Detection Kit
MiniOne's Let it Glow™ Bacterial Transformation
miniPCR bio's Agricultural Monitoring Lab: A Case Study in Antibiotic Resistance
miniPCR bio's BioBits: Antibiotic Resistance
miniPCR bio’s BioBits: Central Dogma
miniPCR bio’s BioBits: Protein Structure and Function Kit
miniPCR bio’s COVID qPCR Lab: Diagnosing SARS-CoV-2 Infection Kit
miniPCR bio’s Crime Lab: Missy Baker Missing™ Kit
miniPCR bio’s DNA Glow Lab™: Exploring DNA Structure
miniPCR bio’s Dog Genetics Lab: Oodles of Labradoodles
miniPCR bio’s Dye Electrophoresis Lab: Cat Genetics
miniPCR bio’s Dye Electrophoresis Lab: Mendel's Peas
miniPCR bio’s Dye Electrophoresis Lab: Microbe Hunters
miniPCR bio’s Dye Electrophoresis Lab: Molecular Rainbow
miniPCR bio’s Electrophoresis Forensics Lab: Wrongfully Convicted? Kit
miniPCR bio’s Food Safety Lab: Mars Colony at Risk! Kit
miniPCR bio's Genotype to Phenotype: PTC Taster Kit
miniPCR bio's GMO Detection Kit
miniPCR bio’s Micropipetting: Microliter Madness Kit
miniPCR bio’s P51™ Chlorophyll Lab
miniPCR bio’s P51™ Enzyme Lab: β-Gal Glow™ Kit
miniPCR bio’s Sickle Cell Genetics Lab: Diagnosing Baby Marie™
miniPCR bio’s Sleep Lab™ – Lark or Owl?
Fixed Volume Pipette
Adjustable Volume Pipette
Micro Tube Rack
P51™ Molecular Fluorescence Viewer
Standard Gel Electrophoresis System
blueGel™ Electrophoresis System
Bandit™ Electrophoresis System
Pill Box DIY Electrophoresis System
mini8™ Thermal Cycler
mini16™ Thermal Cycler
Vortexer
Centrifuge
White Light Transilluminator
UV Transilluminator
Incubator
Heat Block / Dry Bath
