Our certified Lead Teachers Cassandra Knutson and Cassidy Javner, together with Jane Wissinger from the University of Minnesota (one of our Green Chemistry Commitment Signing Institutions) have just published a chapter in the eBook Chemistry Education for a Sustainable Society Volume 1: High School, Outreach, & Global Perspectives, by ACS Symposium Series. In the chapter Designing Impactful Green and Sustainable Chemistry Workshops for High School Teachers, Cassandra, Cassidy, and Jane describe the design and implementation of a three-day workshop with the goals of training and supporting high school teachers to incorporate Green and Sustainable Chemistry into their classrooms. To read the eBook, please access: https://pubs.acs.org/isbn/9780841237551

Over this summer, we have had hundreds of High School and Middle School students tour through our facilities and learn about Green Chemistry. None of this would have been possible without the hard work and passion of our summer interns, Madi Morin, Sunatib Choundry, and Rahul Reddy Alla. Find out below what it’s like to intern in Green Chemistry education. 

Beyond Benign and Education First STEM Tour Reflection, by Madi Morin

“Over the past two months, it has been a privilege to help lead the Beyond Benign stop of the Education First STEM tours. With hundreds of students of various ages passing through, I have been able to gain experience in both the fields of science and education. My limited knowledge and lens of viewing chemistry has expanded to imagine the possibilities of it blurring socio-economic lines, entering the industries of business, cosmetology, athletics, and apparel, and understanding the practicalities of inventing products that are benign at the molecular level versus the unnecessary “reality” of chemistry containing hazardous materials. I have been provided the space and time to reflect on how this booming industry can continue to grow and what my role looks like within it. This opportunity has knocked down my stereotypes of scientists in labs being limited in their interpersonal development and of research and chemical reactions being a linear process. My understanding of communication and collaboration has grown as I see the scientists at WBI working across multiple different disciplines and my appreciation for innovative and logical thinking has expanded when I see how instrumental creativity is in developing new products. Thank you for providing me with both the resources to be set up to succeed and the freedom to make changes and confidently own the fieldtrips. I have been challenged to strengthen my foundation in green chemistry so that I am able to communicate the message to middle schoolers, high schoolers, special education students, and even pupils speaking a different language. Thank you again, it has been a phenomenal experience!”