PhysicsTheoryNet analog in biology

[Ken Olum <kdo cosmos phy tufts edu>]

Hi, all.  Science News had the item below.  It seems that some people
from Regeneron are doing something very analogous to what we do.  I
guess "Science News Learning" is a large program for teachers, but it
does not involve scientists.  The "Scientists to Classrooms" program
puts put scientists in some classrooms involved in Science News Learning
in a way very similar to PhysicsTheoryNet.

I wonder if Science News would like to cover PhysicsTheoryNet.

                                        Ken

SOCIETY FOR SCIENCE UPDATE
Science in Action: Bring Research to Classrooms

Science literacy comes alive when students connect what they
read to the people doing the work. Through a partnership between
Regeneron and Science News Learning, a sponsored program of Society for
Science, students are not only reading about the latest scientific
advancements, but they also are meeting the researchers involved and
seeing firsthand how STEM curiosity can become a career.

Through the joint program, Scientists to Classrooms, 50 Regeneron
scientists visited 36 schools that participate in Science News
Learning. During the visits, which took place during the 2024-2025
school year, the scientists reached more than 2,100 students with
interactive, discussion-driven presentations. For many teachers, the
visits offered a rare opportunity to humanize science and show students
that there is no single vision of what STEM looks like in the real
world.

"My students gained appreciation for a field of science that they hadn't
previously been exposed to," says Tim Renz of Foster High School in
Tukwila, Wash. "The combination of computer science and biology really
spoke to the students, along with the idea that a scientist doesn't
always have to be working at a lab bench."

Several educators noted how powerful it was for students to hear about
nonlinear career paths. "My kids always think they need to know what
they want to be when they are 18," says Heidi Gleason of Columbia High
School in East Greenbush, N.Y. "Our visitors let them know that is not
at all the case."  Others emphasized the importance of embracing
challenges. "The scientists didn't just focus on their successes, but
also talked about their trials and failures," says Sarah Kim of Magnolia
Academy 6 in Los Angeles. "This is such an important lesson for our
students."

The classroom conversations were also meaningful for the scientists. "I
love returning to what inspired me to enter this field," says Alexandra
Tsoras, Principal Scientist at Regeneron Cell Medicines in Somerville,
Mass. "Making science accessible is almost as important as doing it
myself. It's a special opportunity to be able to excite and inspire
others to one day improve on our work."

Building off the success of last year, the Scientists to Classrooms
program will continue this spring.

The Science News Learning program provides middle school and high school
students with access to trusted science journalism and classroom-ready
resources. The program provides 6,000 schools with print and digital
issues of Science News and Science News Explores, along with
professional development for educators and lesson plans that link
current research to core curricular concepts.