On May 16, 2025, we hosted 50 fifth-grade students from South Side Elementary School at the Beckman Institute. The visit was structured around a 2-hour rotating station model, inspired by REMAT research and aligned with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS 5-PS1-3 and 5-PS1-4).
Students moved through five hands-on stations:
- Lab Safety Orientation
- Mixture Formulation (resin prep)
- FROMP Demonstration (with direct student initiation)
- Growth Printing Station (highlighting mold-free fabrication)
- Mechanical Property Testing (structure–property relationships)
All activities emphasized real-world relevance, safe laboratory practice, and visual learning.
Growth printing—demonstrated during the event—is a REMAT-enabled technology, giving us a direct line from fundamental science to future manufacturing.
The event was framed as a mission simulation: Rescue at Odyssey Prime. Students were told that a space station had suffered damage and needed five key parts replaced. Using their observations, they had to match each part to the correct material formulation, based on measured properties like flexibility, toughness, or bounce. This scenario helped contextualize polymer science and make abstract concepts tangible.
We introduced students to two fictional resins: Flexion-8 and Duron-X, which were really COD and DCPD. They learned that mixing these monomers in different ratios changed the material’s behavior—some were squishy and soft, others were stiff and strong. This directly mirrors what we do in REMAT with composition tuning and property profiling.
A standout moment was the growth printing demonstration, where students saw spheres manufactured without a mold using FROMP-based chemistry. This technology, developed within REMAT, connects molecular design to on-demand, additive manufacturing. It reinforced the notion that materials science isn’t just theoretical—it has trans formative applications for space manufacturing and next-gen fabrication.