---
title: "CARC's Vis Lab inspires students' STEM interest"
description: "According to a report by the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, about an eighth of all jobs in New Mexico are in or related to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields."
type: News
tags:
- News
date: "2019-12"
generated:
by: "process:scripts/port_legacy_pages.py"
at: "2026-09-10T00:00:00Z"
sources:
- id: carc-web
resource: "https://carc.unm.edu/news--events/News/vis-lab-inspires-stem-students.html"
title: "CARC's Vis Lab inspires students' STEM interest (carc.unm.edu)"
author: "team:unm-carc"
---
# CARC's Vis Lab inspires students' STEM interest
December 2019
According to a
[report](https://www.dws.state.nm.us/Portals/0/DM/LMI/Regional_Review_2018.pdf){target=_blank}
by the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, about an eighth of all
jobs in New Mexico are in or related to STEM (science, technology,
engineering, and math) fields. These jobs are highly lucrative and expected to
be readily available to college grads in the coming years. Knowing this,
educators across New Mexico are encouraging their students to explore STEM
topics.
To help spark kids’ interest in STEM, Rosemary Morgan and Amy Pilling, two
AmeriCorps volunteers working in the Vis Lab at the University of New Mexico
Center for Advanced Research Computing, are providing a series of educational
workshops to a group of students from Jefferson Middle School. These students
are members of an afterschool club called [NM
MESA](https://www.nmmesa.org/){target=_blank}, or New Mexico Mathematics,
Engineering, and Science Achievement. According to MESA’s website, “MESA
students participate in a variety of enriched math, science and engineering
activities including field trips, speakers, workshops, regional and state-wide
academic competitions, community service and leadership development projects.”
Tammy Dunham, the school’s librarian and MESA advisor, explains that MESA is a
“pre-college program that’s meant to get [students] interested in fields
related to math and science.”
With 138 teacher advisors located in 27 school districts, the MESA program is
involved in middle- and high-school education throughout the state of New
Mexico. Perhaps most importantly, the program has had great success in
reaching historically underserved student populations; 50% of MESA students
are female, 88% belong to minority groups, and 57% receive free or
reduced-price school meals.
In CARC’s Vis Lab, the MESA group from Jefferson Middle School has been
engaging in a variety of hands-on educational activities. During a November
workshop, the students used cotton swabs and petri dishes to gather microbe
samples from around the CARC building – stairway railings, conference tables,
door handles, and other spots frequently touched by bacteria-laden fingers.
The samples were then placed into the Vis Lab’s incubator for about three
weeks, allowing them to bloom into full-blown microbial colonies. The
temperature of the incubator, Pilling explained to the children, was set below
human body temperature, encouraging only the growth of nonpathogenic
organisms.
At the group’s December 6th workshop, the middle school students
donned surgical masks and gathered around the Vis Lab conference table, eager
to see the fruits of their labor. As soon as the incubator was opened, the air
was imbued with the gaseous byproducts of bacterial growth. Despite the odor,
the students were thrilled to see the unique and intricate patterns created by
their samples. These patterns were the inspiration behind the kids’ next
activity: bioart.
Bioart, a shortened term for “biological art,” is a broad term used to
describe works of art that are created using biological materials, tools, or
techniques. As Morgan describes it, “[Bioart] smashes art and biology
together.” This fascinating new genre has pushed the boundaries of artistic
expression to include things like audio tracks based on EEG readings,
genetically modified creatures, and even recorded surgical procedures.
The students of MESA, of course, took part in a much less controversial form
of bioart. After observing their matured samples, the group created drawings
based off what they saw. Then, those drawings were imported into the Vis Lab’s
plot cutter and burned into round slats of wood, producing festive wooden
ornaments.
With a teacher-to-student ratio of 1-to-2, the Vis Lab workshops lead by
Morgan and Pilling provided Jefferson students with an immersive and
individually tailored learning experience that would be difficult to achieve
using public middle school resources alone. The Vis Lab would like to continue
providing these workshops to the local community, particularly to students of
all ages with limited access to creative resources. “We really want to do more
workshops,” Morgan reports, “ The whole point of [AmeriCorps] Vista is to
provide resources and education to the underprivileged and we want to help all
the students we can.”
Groups or organizations interested in participating in a Vis Lab workshop
should [contact STEAM NM](mailto:steamnmunm@gmail.com) for more information.