Curiosity Cube Offers Local Students Hands-On Science Experience

A converted shipping container is helping Centre County students get hands-on science experience while learning about sustainability.

Life science research company MilliporeSigma’s Curiosity Cube, a mobile science lab, is making several stops in the State College and Bellefonte areas on its sixth annual North American tour.

The Curiosity Cube will be open to the public on the following dates:

• Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Millbrook Marsh Nature Center, 548 Puddintown Road, State College.

• Tuesday, April 30, 4 to 6 p.m., at the Bellefonte Youth Center and Faith United Methodist Church, 512 Hughes St., Bellefonte.

• Wednesday, May 1, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Discovery Space, 1224 N. Atherton St., State College.

It will also be on hand for school-only events in State College, Bellefonte and Bald Eagle area school districts.

The goal of the Curiosity Cube — a 22-foot-by-10-foot, retrofitted shipping container turned interactive mobile science lab — is to increase access to hands-on STEM education and spark scientific curiosity.

With three interactive experiments led by MilliporeSigma scientists, students will use modular electronics, digital microscopes and other scientific tools to learn about sustainability.

“To help young minds build confidence that they are equipped for STEM careers, MilliporeSigma is showing students that science is all around them through its Curiosity Cube mobile science lab,” according to a news release. “The Curiosity Cube is designed to spark scientific curiosity and passion early—paving the way to a future filled with innovative breakthroughs and encouraging students to pursue careers in STEM fields.”

MilliporeSigma is the North American life science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and has a facility in Bellefonte.