A Semester of Discovery

Over the course of three months, each Discovery semester combines four immersive, full-day campus visits with project work completed back at school between sessions.

Visit 1 – Project Launch & Skills Training

Students explore their project prompt and gain hands-on experience with the tools, equipment, and techniques they’ll use in their projects, guided by graduate student mentors.

Deliverable 1 - Project Proposal

Students draft a project proposal outlining their rationale, objectives, and evaluation plan. Educators and graduate mentors provide structured feedback to help refine ideas and ensure projects are well defined for the next phase.

Visit 2 – Experimentation & Data Collection

Students begin hands-on experimentation and prototype development, with graduate student mentors providing guidance, technical support, and feedback throughout the process.

Deliverable 2 - Progress Meeting

Students and graduate mentors meet virtually to review initial results and reflect on project progress, collaboratively developing a plan for the final phase of experimentation.

Visit 3 – Analysis & Refinement

Students conduct final experiments and collect data, while beginning initial analysis and interpretation with guidance from graduate student mentors.

Deliverable 3 - Scientific Poster

Students create a research poster presenting their project goals, methods, results, and conclusions, bringing together their work from across the semester.

Visit 4 – Final Symposium

Students present their research to peers and university judges, and participate in a university lecture followed by an undergraduate Q&A panel to learn about post-secondary STEM experiences.