Visiting high school students use liquid nitrogen to make ice cream in a Clark University chemistry lab, led by Assistant Professor Sergio Granados-Focil (right foreground).

One summer day at Clark University, students from King Philip Regional High School enjoyed a box lunch and lab-made ice cream, all in the name of science education.

A select group of science students from the high school in Wrentham, MA, came to Clark’s Carlson School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, for “A Day in the Life of a Grad Student: A Science Perspective,” on June 22, experiencing for themselves a brief look at college graduate-level laboratory research. To view photos from the visit, click here.

The students began their day with a brief introduction to the Clark chemistry program, and a hands-on lab about purifying proteins. Later in the day, they worked with Clark Assistant professor Sergio Granados-Focil to make ice cream using sugar, milk, cream, and liquid nitrogen. The students experimented with different ratios of milk and cream, then voted for their favorites.

This is the second year of the science perspective program, which was organized by Clark graduate student Jamie Towle, along with King Philip Regional High School teacher Doris Brennan, who works with the school’s Biotechnology Association. Other grad student participants at Clark included Kai Peng, Yun Cao, and Robert Doyle.

Seeing how much the high schoolers enjoyed their day at Clark has fueled Towle’s plans to help continue the program, she said.