Costa Rica Science Research
High School Immersion Programs
Seeds of Change, Inc. is a Minnesota 501(C)(3)
non-profit corporation with a mission to influence high school students to pursue science-related careers by immersing them in original research experiences that ignite in each student a passion for science. Our programs deliberately relate real-world problems of enormous consequences for mankind to student research.
10-day Field Research Program
Students in grades 9-12 join two teachers/chaperones to form a tropical field research group of 16 students from their school or local area.
There are no prerequisites for the program, but biology is preferred. The summer immersion program is based on the north slope of the Rincon volcano in northern Costa Rica at the juncture of the premontane and cloud forest biomes.
The program ends at one of Costa Rica's pristine Pacific coast beaches.
4-day Teacher Training Workshop
This workshop is for teachers interested in running an SOC Insect-Microbiome Antibiotic Bioprospecting research class in their high school.
Completion of the workshop certifies teachers to conduct research in their classrooms with their students to isolate and characterize potentially novel antibiotic-producing microbes.
Regional workshops can be organized for your area.
10-day Bioinformatics Research Program
Students (16-22) in grades 10-12 come together from one or multiple schools or homeschools to form a bioinformatics research immersion group.
Completion of biology is a prerequisite for this program. The summer bioinformatics immersion program is based near Monteverde or La Fortuna Costa Rica.
The program ends in El Jobo Costa Rica where students conduct sea turtle and/or ray capture and release, as well as sea turtle nesting research on the Pacific coast.