The Baxter Center for Science Education

Thank you for hosting the BCSE and partner schools and at our annual Anatomy Lab Field Trip! Thank you to as well for running a great activity for students wanting to learn more about the medicine world. Stay tuned for our upcoming reels to see more behind-the-scenes of the day!

Applications for the 2026 RET are now open! 

Does the idea of gaining research experience in university labs sound exciting to you? The Baxter Center for Science Education’s (BCSE’s) Research Experience for Teachers (RET) is a 2-week paid program that gives local teachers the opportunity to participate in a “tasting menu” of experiments, primarily with researchers from (CSB), and develop related experiences to bring back to their classrooms.

All middle and high school teachers who support students in Cook or Lake County science classrooms are welcome to apply!

Applications will close March 31, 2026. We will aim to notify applicants of decisions in the first half of April!

The miniPCR Workshop prep is underway! The BCSE team had a packing party last week to prep for supply deliveries for our upcoming virtual workshop with ! We are looking forward to seeing you all online next week!

The Lab Grant Program from Northwestern University’s Baxter Center for Science Education is designed to help public middle and high school teachers in Cook and Lake county get the lab supplies they need for hands-on science learning. We offer funding up to $1,000 to purchase biotechnology equipment and materials for classrooms, prioritizing those serving under-resourced communities and those who have not received a lab grant from us in the past.

Complete a short application on our website! Applications close February 27, 2026.

Register now for our upcoming winter workshops!

Feb. 3, 2026, 4:30 PM - 7:00 PM CST - Test miniPCR bio’s ViewIt & Bandit kit with PTC Taster Lab Control Bands! 2.5 ISBE PD Hours

February 25th from 5-7pm (virtual) and  February 28th from 9am-12pm (in person) - Learn how to use the Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) to transform traditional cookbook labs into NGSS-aligned investigations. 5 ISBE PD Hours

Register with the link in our bio.

Thank you for having us and for an amazing field trip!

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our BacTalk workshop trying out the Bioluminescence kit from BioRad! This kit is available to reserve for your class through the BCSE box program! More details on our website.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our 3DMD workshop! The Flow of Genetic Information Kit, Enzymes in Action Kit, and Water Kit are all available to reserve through the BCSE Box Program. Check them out on our website!

Meet the team at BCSE! Swipe to get to know a little about us and what we do.

Register now for our upcoming fall workshops!

Nov 3rd, 4:30-7:00pm – Join BCSE & the 3DMD team for a fun evening with giveaways! Dinner provided. 2.5 ISBE PD hours.

Nov 6th, 4:30-7:00pm – Join us to try out the brand new BacTalk Bioluminescence kit from Bio-Rad! Dinner provided. 3 ISBE PD hours.

Register with the link in our bio.

Register for this VIRTUAL workshop on protein purification and expression! Link in Bio!