Hands-on lab experiences for middle and high school classes

Looking for an on-campus lab experience for Middle School and High School classes? You have arrived at the right place! 

Purdue University College of Science K-12 Outreach is excited to offer a program that allows teachers to bring classes to the Purdue University, West Lafayette campus for labs led by K-12 Outreach Coordinators.  

Hands-on Purdue Science

The Hands-on Purdue Science (HOPS) program (formally AP Fridays) is for middle and high school classes. These labs provide students with hands-on science labs in the K-12 Outreach Lab in the Brown building on the West Lafayette Campus. 

COST:

The Hands-on Purdue Lab sessions are FREE to any participating high school that registers to attend. Space is limited. Teachers can register their classes on a first-come, first-served basis.

TIME and PLACE:

• 8:30 am Arrive on campus.
• 9:00 am to 12:30 pm Teachers and students will complete the scheduled lab.
• 12:30 pm Lunch (on your own) and depart campus.

SCHEDULE and TOPICS*

We are scheduling for the Spring 2025 semester now. 

Fall 2025

August: Introduction to data collection and graphing (lab notes best practices) 

• Chemistry and Environmental Science

September: Atmospheric Chemistry: Understanding Environmental Variables  

• Chemistry and Environmental Science

October: Absolute Dating: Using Nuclear Chemistry to Investigate the Geologic Timescale

• Chemistry and Environmental Science 

November: Groundwater Contamination: Spectrophotometry 

• Chemistry and Environmental Science
• Understanding porosity, infiltration, and Beer’s Law 

 

Additional information: 

• There is some flexibility with the schedule.  
• Our K-12 Outreach lab has a max capacity of 40 students.
• All lab dates must be registered with Purdue no less than 30 days prior to the event. 
• If you will be bringing any chaperones that are not teachers at your school, Purdue highly encourages your school to complete background checks on these volunteers prior to coming to campus.
• A class roster of FIRST and LAST names of each student that will be participating during your campus visit should be emailed to your Hands-on Purdue Lab instructor no later than 12:00pm ET, one week prior to your scheduled visit.

Linked below are release waivers that need to be signed by both the student participants and parents/guardians prior to arriving at Purdue's campus. There are three separate pages and all of them will need to be completed, printed, brought to campus on the day of your visit, and submitted to your Hands-on Purdue Lab instructor. Any student that does not have the three forms completed will not be able to participate in the lab activities.

• Page 1: K-12 Outreach Lab Waiver - Students should sign and date this paper, and complete the Additional Information section at the bottom.
• Page 2: Medical Treatment Authorization for Minor - The student's name and date of birth need to be filled in at the top of this form. At the bottom, the date needs filled in and the parent will sign and print their name.
• Page 3: Waiver, Release and Hold Harmless Agreement - The date of your campus visit needs to be written at the top of this document. Both the student and their parent/guardian will date the form and sign and print their names at the bottom of this page.

 

*Some of the labs we offer include: 

 

All labs are subject to personnel availability.