New LabVenture Unveiled

In September, a group of project partners, staff, and donors gathered to celebrate the launch of an all-new LabVenture — our hands-on science experience for Maine middle schoolers. In its original design, the education program served over 120,000 students. Now, thanks to funding from NASA and others, we’ve totally reimagined both the learning experience and the physical space.

The thousands of students who join us for LabVenture each year will now explore important questions about the Gulf of Maine using real-world data, such as sea surface temperature and species abundance. They’ll do all this in our fully renovated Cohen Center for Interactive Learning — a one-of-a-kind lab space in which students will measure live lobsters, examine plankton under a microscope, and analyze data related to key research questions. 

Additionally, a newly developed set of classroom resources for teachers will help extend LabVenture back into schools. Even the buses, which transport the students free of charge from all corners of the state, have been redesigned.

The new LabVenture makes a cutting-edge science environment available to the thousands of students we see each year,” says Chief Education Officer Leigh Peake. “Our goal is to give the next generation the science and data skills they will need to manage the challenges and opportunities that come with a changing climate.”