Justin’s typical day-to-day responsibilities at INTEGRA involve travelling all over the USA to visit and train the sales representatives in his team, helping them to better aid their customers. He also attends numerous industry events, and provides product demonstrations to new and existing customers within the biotechnology, industrial and pharmaceutical sectors, as well as academic groups at numerous universities. However, he recently took a little time out of his busy schedule to give a demonstration in a very different environment – his fifth grade niece’s school!

This small independent school in rural central Ohio offers numerous extracurricular activities for students, including a robotics club. Teachers at the school are also continually searching for ways to increase student awareness of STEM careers as an essential component of career education.

Instilling a passion for learning from a young age

INTEGRA is always keen to help foster a passion for science and technology in the next generation. Justin explained: “I heard that the school was searching for opportunities to expose students to practical uses of STEM disciplines in real life, so I just had to reach out and offer a pipetting workshop for the students. The school was quick to respond with a resounding yes, and the event took place in early May 2024. We ended up extending the workshop to all fifth-grade science classes, rather than just those who participant in the robotics program, in order give more students the opportunity to learn about science, pipetting and robotics.”

Justin started off with a brief introduction to INTEGRA and an interactive presentation on good pipetting practices, which is based on our INTEGRA School of Pipetting course module. “We tailored the initial part of our workshop to make sure it was appealing and relevant to the students. For example, we interspersed our slides with several real-life examples of local businesses that use INTEGRA’s products, ranging from the nearby Ohio State University to well-known ice cream manufacturers. The exercise highlighted to the children how important science is to many areas of their lives behind the scenes, and how different companies they are familiar with rely on robotics and liquid handling technologies to operate,” Justin continued. 

This short and insightful presentation was followed by practical demonstrations of the ASSIST PLUS pipetting robot and our 24, 96 and 384 channel pipettes. There was also plenty of time for everyone to get hands-on and have fun using EVOLVE manual pipettes, VIAFLO electronic pipettes, VOYAGER adjustable tip spacing pipettes and PIPETBOY serological pipet controllers. All the children then received a goodie bag containing a handful of gifts, most notably an EVOLVE pipette pen as a memento of their day, as well as Swiss chocolates for a taste of Switzerland.

Investing in the future of science 

In addition to arranging this demonstration, the school occasionally enters regional and national science contests, but the non-profit school's budget is limited compared to larger, better-funded institutions, creating a competitive disadvantage. INTEGRA is therefore pleased to be further supporting the school’s promising robotics program with a USD 500 donation. We trust that this financial boost will encourage parents and teachers to continue investing in the group, and will motivate students to keep pursuing STEM-based subjects.

Justin added: “This workshop was the first of its kind for INTEGRA, and the whole day was highly rewarding to me personally. All the students and teachers were extremely engaged, and I received numerous requests to host another workshop soon. I am very grateful for this opportunity to inspire the younger generation to follow a career in science, and look forward to potentially running similar events for other schools to help support the growth and development of more budding scientists.”

In addition to inspiring young minds, INTEGRA also offers educational presentations to help established scientists enhance their lab skills and knowledge. Sessions cover a range of topics, such as good pipetting practices, ergonomic pipetting and handling tricky liquids. Reach out to schedule an INTEGRA School of Pipetting presentation.