In their own words, here is what some of the student participants in The Young Scientists Program had to say about their experience.

“We came up with a lot of great questions, a lot of great research.”

“Interviewing the children was fun. I like getting to talk to kids.”

“My favorite thing about the project was just being able to work with some people who are really knowledgable in the field and just test something that I’ve kind of always been interested in.”

Throughout the 2021-22 academic year, the Young Scientists Program captured the progress of middle school students from Avalon School and Ascension Catholic Academy as they designed their own research projects, with the support of ICD PhD students, post-doctoral fellows and professors. Throughout the academic year, ICD mentors visit the schools bi-weekly as students walk through a multi-step research process. This culminates in a Young Scientists Symposium, where students present their work to their peers and the ICD community.

Now in its 4th year, the outreach program, which was founded by ICD’s Dr. Melissa Koenig and doctoral alumni Annelise Pesch, strives to educate middle and high school students in developmental psychology and foster their interest in scientific research and discovery.

Learn more in the video below and on the Young Scientists webpage.