Pathways to Science Summer Scholars Program

What was Earth like in the past, and how will it change in the future? Using specimens from the Peabody Museum, explore our dynamic planet and the role of Earth scientists in addressing societal challenges. Discover the diversity of life through time, from ancient oceans to modern landscapes. Investigate the processes that shape our world, whether in the formation of microscopic crystals, the shifting of tectonic plates, or the immense power of storms.
 

Bacteria, though seemingly simple and invisible to the naked eye, play a hidden yet vital role in the delicate web of life on Earth. Deep within the soil, they are responsible for creating the elements essential for life itself and for growing the fruits and vegetables we eat every day. In this workshop, you will dig your hands in the dirt to discover who these hidden architects are, what secrets they guard, and how we can unlock their mysterious potential to shape a future of sustainability.

We will look into the daily life of a biologist that uses C. elegans to ask important questions in the life sciences, with the hopes of stimulating students to think about how their own outstanding scientific questions could be addressed!
 

From the mesmerizing patterns of drying mud to the way ketchup flows, fluids behave in surprising and fascinating ways. In this hands-on lab, students will explore real-world fluid flows and instabilities, like the coffee ring effect and the strange solid-to-liquid behavior of peanut butter. Through interactive experiments, students will uncover the hidden physics behind these everyday phenomena!

In this course, we will talk about how microbes grow, search for food and escape from predators. These tiny powerhouses drive the flow of food and nutrients through the ocean, fueling ecosystems that would otherwise struggle to survive. We will learn how to collect microbes from the ocean, use microscopes to spy on their lives, and grow them in the lab.

Dive in and learn about the animals that live under the water! All of the bodies of water on this earth are teeming with life, particularly invertebrates that are incredibly diverse. In this workshop we will learn about the aquatic invertebrates that live on this planet.

For all of us who can see, we experience light and color every moment. But what are they? We will explore light’s visible and invisible properties, and how these properties enable technologies from lasers to smart phones.

What makes up matter? What are the smallest particles? Smash protons with electrons in computer simulations and study the wreckage to find the answers – just like physicists do at particle colliders!

Through physical demonstrations, interactive experiments, challenges, and a little math, you will discover the wonders of the quantum world - a world made of molecules, atoms, light, and waves!

Develop your science communication skills through exciting hands-on physics demonstrations and creative presentations. Build your own tabletop physics demo—like a mini Tesla coil, LED fidget spinner, firefly robot, or metal detector—to take home and share. Team up with other students to create fun skits that bring large-scale physics demos to life. Plus, you’ll contribute to the Yale Physics Lecture Demonstrations repository by developing outreach materials that inspire future learners.

Earth is a beacon of warmth in an otherwise frozen solar system. In this workshop, you will learn the fundamental processes maintaining this hospitable climate, such as how the planet traps and circulates the sun’s energy, and how the ocean and atmosphere interact. You will learn to use Python to investigate and manipulate real datasets recorded on planet Earth, such as the famous Mauna Loa CO2 data, solar radiation data, and Arctic sea ice measurements. You will come away with the tools and understanding to ask (and answer!) interesting questions in the field of climate science.

We experience the world through our senses. Explore how they work, test their limits, and compare sensory abilities of animals through hands-on experiments involving taste and smell, touch, and sight.

Students will learn about basic engineering tools and acoustic concepts that can be used to design and build musical instruments ranging from electronic to mechanical.

Ten Days; one killer essay. Can they do it? Yes, they can! In this workshop, students will learn to write their positive stories that unveil who they are, at their best, to a college admissions officer. This is a Creative Writing Experience, not an English class.