She’s been from Fort Kent to South Portland, from the Midcoast to the mountains of Western Maine, bringing life science and STEM learning to teachers and students around the state. But Maine’s Mobile Biolab had not yet rolled onto the leafy campus of University of Maine at Farmington, which graduates dozens of teachers each year from its much-lauded education programs.
This week Educate Maine finally got to bring its rolling life-sciences lab and classroom to Farmington, where we were delighted to show it off to the University of Maine system trustees who were meeting on campus—as well as to several classes of pre-service teachers.
“We are so grateful to the UMaine system for being a founding partner of the Biolab,” said James Murphy, Educate Maine’s development director. “It was exciting to share the lab with the trustees in person. And of course, we were really thrilled to show it off to future educators. We hope to see them again when they’re in the classroom in a few years.”
The lab, with two dedicated STEM educators aboard, will visit about 30 sites this academic year. Students will get to sample the state-of-the art technology in the lab, and teachers have the opportunity to work with the lab crew to develop lessons they can use afterward and throughout the year.
The Biolab is designed not just to supplement resources for rural educators. Its focus on STEM learning directly supports Maine’s future workforce. There are thousands of well-paying life-science jobs in the state—from research to veterinary manufacturing to water-quality oversight, and more—and educators know that students' interest and competence in STEM work starts as early as middle school.
