ALLEN COUNTY, OH (WLIO) - For the last eight years, local kindergarten through eighth grade students have been able to experience science in a fun way at the Ohio State University Lima Campus during the STEAM on the Quad event. The event brings in local businesses and organizations, as well as Ohio State Lima departments and student clubs, to create hands-on activities for the kids to experience.
For the last eight years, local kindergarten through eighth grade students have been able to experience science in a fun way at the Ohio State University Lima Campus during the STEAM on the Quad event.
STEAM on the Quad is a partnership with Charles River Laboratories in Spencerville and Ohio State Lima. Those with Charles River say that it's all part of a way for them to reach out to the community and show off the different opportunities while exploring fields in STEAM.
"We have a keen interest in developing students with science, technology, engineering, and math capabilities, because long-term we’re looking for employees that want to be involved with pharmaceutical research and developing new drugs to cure diseases," said Rusty Rush, general manager of Charles River Labs Spencerville.
STEAM on the Quad is a partnership with Charles River Laboratories in Spencerville and Ohio State Lima.
This year there were 30 different stations that the kids could interact with, everything from battery-powered model cars to the science of baking. The Ohio State Lima campus is so thankful for Charles River's partnership, as they both are able to give many different local industries and resources a chance to shine.
"We are really grateful for the support of Charles River for this event and other things that they support at Ohio State Lima, because without them, this event wouldn’t happen anywhere near the scale that happens here," said Robin Bagley, assistant professor of evolutionary biology at Ohio State Lima. "I think that the really important thing about partnering with our businesses is that it's just to remind people that all of this stuff happens in Lima. You don’t necessarily think about all of the amazing biotechnology companies or museums and things that you have right in your backyard, so partnering with these organizations, we show this is happening; these are places that you can consider working at."
The Ohio State Lima campus is so thankful for Charles River's partnership, as they both are able to give many different local industries and resources a chance to shine.
And of course, this isn't the only way that Charles River is able to connect with the community and hopefully inspire future generations.
"Over the years, we’ve not only been interested in developing the college students, but as our business has matured here, we’re really trying to get younger students interested in science," said Rush. "Beyond being part of this project, we have scholarships for kids that are interested in STEM, and we also have tours on our facility to show what pharmaceutical research is."
More information on Charles River Labs can be found here: https://www.criver.com/products-services/safety-assessment/preclinical-facilities/spencerville-ohio?region=3601
