Summer Spotlight: NEW Bio-Chem Lab Program

There is some science you just can’t do at home!

If you don’t have a spectrometer or spring scales in your kitchen, you may need to do homeschool science somewhere else!

Compass has organized a unique opportunity for students to conduct biology, chemistry, and environmental science experiments in a university laboratory setting! Bio-Chem Learning Labs is a series of 5 sessions, held off-site at Towson University’s Center for STEM Excellence in downtown Baltimore (60 miles from Compass.) Students will use advanced lab equipment, follow college-level lab protocols, and receive instruction from university lab staff. Example activities from scheduled labs include:

  • Collecting and testing for water quality and salinity
  • Identifying organisms living on a biofilm
  • Categorizing soil types, percolation, and absorption
  • Measuring concentrations of carbon dioxide
  • Evaluating the antimicrobial properties of different plants
  • Extracting DNA samples from plant and animal sources
  • Learning to define control samples, recording and graphing data, and applying the scientific method.

    • These labs provide additional hands-on experience for students taking Integrated Science, Environmental Science, Biology, or Micro-Biology at Compass in 2018-19. Homeschool students following another curriculum, doing self-study, or taking an online class may take this series to add a lab component to their work. This program is for students in 8th-10th grade (advanced 7th graders and 11th/12th graders are welcome.)

    Lab dates are held on five Tuesdays:October 2, December 4, February 12, March 12, and April 9. Labs begin at 11:30 am, and are 2.5 – 3.0 hours long. Compass families may form carpools to Baltimore.

    Register for Bio-Chem Learning Labs online today!

    Looking for other opportunities to do science away from home?

    See Compass’s fall schedule which includes many STEM classes for homeschooled students of all ages.