Future Scientists in the Making: MilliporeSigma’s Curiosity Cube Wraps Up 2023 Multi-Country STEM Tour
Since 2017, the Curiosity Cube, a shipping container turned mobile science lab from MilliporeSigma, the U.S. and Canada Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, has provided a chance for children to explore science in a structured yet flexible environment. After the program’s pause in 2020-2021 due to COVID-19, it is back to sparking curiosity across two continents for the second year in a row.
Across Europe and North America in 2023, the Curiosity Cube reached more than 40,000 students through 259 events in 184 communities. Employee volunteers walked students through three hands-on science experiments focused to spark curiosity in the next generation of scientists.
Spanning 129 North American events from March to November, the tour visited 95 communities in cities, including San Diego, Boston, Cleveland, Toronto and St. Louis. Over 24,000 students experienced interactive programming in the Curiosity Cube. Looking back at the 2023 tour, U.S. Curiosity Cube Lead, Natalie Randolph said, “My favorite part about the recent tour was seeing visitors interact with MilliporeSigma STEM experts who prioritized their time to make a positive impact in their communities.”
On the other side of the world, the European tour visited 11 countries, including Germany, the U.K., Italy, Switzerland and Spain from April to October. Through 130 events, more than 15,800 students conducted experiments centered around the impact of contamination on the planet and everyday life. When asked about the importance of the lessons on contamination, Europe Curiosity Cube Lead, Stefanie Rammer said, “Learning about contamination helped the students gain a better understanding of the world around them. Presenting the topic in a hands-on fashion allowed them to develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills. In the case of contamination, they learned about how it impacts the safety of food, germs on hard surfaces and how pollution impacts the environment.”
This program underscores MilliporeSigma’s continued commitment to making science education more equitable as one of many other initiatives, such as Curiosity Labs™. The Curiosity Cube team is developing new experiments and upgrading the Curiosity Cube in advance of its seventh tour, which will kick off in February 2024. More details about the Curiosity Cube’s 2024 tour will be announced soon. In the meantime, learn more at TheCuriosityCube.com and follow on Instagram at @CuriosityCube_MilliporeSigma.
