MilliporeSigma's Partners Bring Science Lessons to Elementary Students in St. Louis

MilliporeSigma is dedicated to sparking curiosity in the next generation of scientists, and teams up with organizations that share the same passion for advancing science education. These community-led partnerships are focused on increasing access to science with populations historically underserved and underrepresented in scientific fields. Two of MilliporeSigma’s partners — KIPP Wonder Academy and STEMpact, an organization facilitated by the Institute for School Partnership at Washington University in St. Louis in collaboration with St. Louis' leading STEM employers, foundations and individuals — strive to engage students in interactive science learning while at home.

Since May, Melanie Turnage, instructional specialist with the Institute for School Partnership at Washington University in St. Louis, and her sidekick, Hargrove, have provided weekly science lessons to tens of thousands of elementary students in the St. Louis region through "Teaching in Room 9, Science.” This series is supported by STEMpact and appears on Nine Network/KETC.

"One of our goals is to provide equitable science education opportunities and resources to all children in our region,” said Turnage. “This project has been a fulfilling and purposeful way to reach that goal during a challenging time. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to serve as an educator in this way.”

Chris Frills, founding school leader at KIPP Wonder Academy, also leads science lessons.

“Spending time in front of the camera to engage with kids was the highlight of my week. Nothing gives me greater joy than giving access to academic content to children,” said Frills. “Our goal was to make sure that kids could have access to science content, and not have internet connectivity be a barrier. It was so fun to get messages and pictures from our KIPP Wonder families saying that their child was locked in on a science lesson for 30 minutes on a Friday afternoon.”