Waltham High School Bilingual Field Trip

The Waltham High School Bilingual Chemistry Field Trip marked the fifth year of this MRSEC-supported outreach program and expanded its scope through the inclusion of AP Chemistry students and a new collaboration with the MEL Community Foundation. This year, 30 students from SEI and AP Chemistry courses, who had been engaged in bilingual chemistry learning throughout the academic year, visited Brandeis University for a culminating field trip featuring lab tours, hands-on chemistry experiments, and exposure to the research landscape in chemistry and materials science. The experience connected classroom learning to active scientific research and gave students direct insight into how chemistry concepts are investigated and applied in laboratory settings.

This achievement is important because it strengthens chemistry learning by integrating bilingual instruction with hands-on scientific practice, helping students deepen their conceptual understanding and connect scientific ideas to real-world research. The field trip supports MRSEC goals by linking education with active materials research and creating pathways for students to engage with scientific discovery beyond the classroom. Participants are now in the process of translating their learning into a bilingual children’s chemistry book for younger learners and families allowing students to reinforce their own understanding while creating a lasting educational resource grounded in scientific communication.