April 21, 2023 | Montgomery Community Media read it >
Students and local leaders explored a new mobile science lab experience Thursday night at Gaithersburg Middle School.
The lab is retrofitted in a traveling shipping container and offers students an interactive activity focused on body systems.
“But it’s really about a game,” said Brian Gaines, CEO of Learning Undefeated, a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education nonprofit headquartered in Gaithersburg. “It’s an escape room-style activity, where students are solving puzzles, working together as teams, working on critical thinking and really thinking about their future.”
Learning Undefeated and AstraZeneca, the pharmaceutical company with a Gaithersburg campus, partnered to unveil the lab at the school.
“It was basically like a really big puzzle with different clues,” said Evelyn Murphy, a fifth-grader at Strawberry Knoll Elementary School, who said it was very fun.
Elected officials in attendance included County Councilmembers Marilyn Balcombe and Laurie-Anne Sayles, Gaithersburg City Council Vice President Lisa Henderson and Gaithersburg City Councilmembers Jim McNulty and Ryan Spiegel.
“Especially being in the biotech corridor of the City of Gaithersburg, I mean this is just a prime opportunity for us to further instill the value and importance of a STEM education in one of the most diverse cities in our country,” Sayles said.
Thursday night kicked off a new year-long partnership that will bring the “Breakout Box: Body Systems Mission” to schools across the state, according to a release from Learning Undefeated. The event is part of a week-long visit at Gaithersburg Middle School.
