Students at Bioscience Event get a Glimpse of Future Science Career Paths

WESTBROOK, Maine (January 22, 2020) – Artel was fortunate to participate in the Maine Bioscience Day and gave students at Gorham Middle School some “laboratory” hands-on experience.   Students were exposed to some of the life science career choices available in science-related industries in Maine and participated in the Artel Pipetting Challenge for a little fun.

The Bioscience Association of Maine started the event in 2016 as a way to connect Maine life science companies with local middle school students.  The event promotes science as an exciting course of study in schools and creates student awareness about science and job opportunities in the bioscience industry. Schools around the state were visited by professionals from a number of Maine life science companies; Artel, IDEXX, Maine Medical Center Research Institute, Kennebec River Biosciences, and the MDI Biological Laboratory to name a few of the 26 organizations that participated.

Members of the Artel team each gave summaries of their backgrounds and described how their work in the science field has impacted them professionally and personally. They then gave a brief presentation and had all of the students participate in a hands-on science experiment that showed how the scientific method is used to gather, document, and analyze data.


Nicole Nguyen, Artel software test analyst, said, “The most rewarding part of the experience was seeing kids participate in the activities and surprise themselves with how well they did. You could see on their faces that new possibilities had just opened up for them.”

“It’s so important for our youth, the students in our communities, to be aware that there is a wide range of science-related career opportunities right here in Maine,” says Kirby Pilcher, President of Artel. “This event does a wonderful job of raising that awareness and is of great benefit not only to the kids but to their eventual employers and the entire Maine economy.”

Those interested in participating in next year’s Maine Bioscience Day are encouraged to contact the Bioscience Association of Maine at [email protected].