Sanford PROMISE
Sanford PROMISE provides STEM education outreach for Sanford Research. We’re working to inspire the next generation of scientists, problem solvers, and thinkers.
Our educational resources and programs include:
-
Teacher resources for the classroom: printables, slideshows, activities, and student lab notebooks.
-
Lesson plans aligned with national standards, complete with educational slideshows, videos, and hands-on activities.
-
Meet Our Scientists - watch online with your class or send us a request to meet virtually with one of our research scientists.
-
Career exploration opportunities - we have internships, research shadowing experiences, and more ways to connect with our research professionals.
-
Enrichment for students and educators - join our Teen Science Café, PROMISE Community Lecture
-
Summer camps for middle school and high school aged students. Email sanfordoutreach@sanfordhealth.org for more information.
-
Summer professional development for teachers K-12.
-
Immersive experiences in the PROMISE lab, located inside Sanford Research and visits from the PROMISE educators to your classroom. Sign up required.
-
Equipping teachers with authentic science equipment through an Equipment Lending Library.
-
Sanford PROMISE Scholars- a 10-week research internship for students after their junior year.
Summer Program Registration is now open:
Sanford PROMISE summer programs are a great way to get hands-on science experience and learn about current research being done at Sanford Research. All programs will operate on a rolling admission with first-come first-served. There is no fee to attend these programs. Housing and care outside of program hours will not be provided. Signups will close when a date reaches capacity.
Inside Out: An Anatomy and Health Experience
How do our organs work to keep us alive and how can we keep them healthy? In this program, students will learn about the heart, lungs, and kidneys. They will dissect each organ, learn about the function, learn how to keep them healthy, and learn about why researchers are interested in it.
Participants will need parental/guardian permission to participate in dissection and fitness activities. The program is filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Upon enrolling, you will be notified within 5 business days of registration confirmation.
Open to students in grades 6-8 in the 2022-2023 school year.
June 27th (FULL) or July 11th, 2023, 8:30am-4:00pm (1 day) | Sioux Falls, SD @Sanford Research
June 8th, 8:30am-4:00pm (1 day) | Fargo, ND @ North Dakota State University Aldevron Tower
June 13th, 8:30am-4:00pm (1 day) | Luverne, MN @ Minnesota West Community and Technical College
Finding Your Roots: A Genetics and Genealogy Experience
What is more interesting than you? In this program, students will use science to answer the question “Who am I?” Students will extract and analyze their own DNA, learn about human evolution, and dig into the stories of their ancestors.
Participants will need parental/guardian permission to submit a DNA sample in April in order to be enrolled in the program. The program is limited to 24 students on a first-come, first-served basis. Upon enrolling, you will be notified within 5 business days of registration confirmation. You must be able to attend all 5 days of this program, partial attendance will not be accepted. To learn more about the details of this camp check out this blog: What you need to know
Open to students in grades 6-8 in the 2022-2023 school year.
July 24th-28th, 8:30am-4:00pm (5 days) | Sioux Falls, SD @ Sanford Research
Register for Finding Your Roots
Research in Action: An Inside Look at Biomedical Research
Summers at Sanford Research are very lively as college students from across the country join Sanford Research through the Sanford Program for Undergraduate Research (SPUR) which is an immersive 10-week summer program that provide students the opportunity to gain the skills and prepare for a career in science while still in school. During this experience, high school students will be given an opportunity to shadow an undergraduate researcher during part of their routine day. The day will also consist of time in the PROMISE lab to prepare and debrief from the shadow experience.
Open to students in 9th through 12th grade in 2022-2023 School Year
July 13th, 9:30am-3:00pm | Sioux Falls, SD @ Sanford Research
Register for Research in Action
Professional Development for Teachers:
BIOC 592: Modeling: It Takes All Shapes and Sizes (Biomedical Edition)
What do you think about when you hear the word model? Is it systems, things, or people? Join the PROMISE team at Sanford research for two days to explore the science and engineering practice of developing and using models. Learn how models are used by research scientists at Sanford and learn about new resources available in our lending library.
Who: Secondary educators (6th-12th grade)
Where: Sanford Research, Sioux Falls
Cost: $30 registration fee
Stipend: $200
When: August 2-3, 2023 | 8:00am-4:30pm- 2 days
Register for BIOC 592: Modeling
ELED 592: Science in Action
Teaching science in the elementary classroom doesn’t have to be difficult. When reading, math, science questions, and move activities are weaved together they create a day of learning that is fun for students and teachers. This professional development will provide you with resources from Sanford fit and Sanford PROMISE to enhance your lesson planning.
Who: Elementary educators (1st-5th)
Where: Sanford Research, Sioux Falls
Cost: $30 registration fee
Stipend: $200
When: June 20-21 | 8:00am-4:30pm- 2days
Register for ELED 592: Science in Action
Elementary
We spark curiosity and instill problem-solving skills in younger kids – while making science fun.
Start Here
Middle School
Students will dive into the basics of scientific learning and examine the “whys” of our world.
Start Here
High School
At advanced levels, we help students apply scientific concepts and take charge of their learning.
Start HereAbout PROMISE
The Sanford Program for the Midwest Initiative in Science Exploration (PROMISE) was developed to connect communities in our region with cutting edge science and research. In 2010, Sanford Research created an outreach program to provide science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) experiences for K-12 students across South Dakota and neighboring states...
Learn More About PROMISEBlog
Working with the PROMISE Program: A PRN perspective
I am one year into working for the PROMISE program as their PRN research assistant. What was supposed to be just a summer internship has turned into an over year-long adventure that is ending as I enter graduate school for genetic counseling. I was excited to start this new journey in a field that I was not familiar with and the challenges it would bring. I was also nervous that I would be behind other applicants who had experience directly in the field. I shadowed and did my research on the field but was unable to find an employment opportunity within genetic counseling itself. So, with my science background and zero experience in teaching, I took a position within a science education program. Here are three lessons I learned while working at PROMISE that will help me be a better genetic counselor:
Biomedical Research Investigation Days
The Sanford PROMISE team works tirelessly to help students engage in hands on science. Our Biomedical Research Investigation (BRI) programs allow students to engage in science as an elective activity.
Herd Immunity: How Do we Know When it Might Happen?
Vaccines are starting to become widely available for the majority of the population. Each dose pushes us closer to herd immunity or community immunity, which is when enough of the people in the community are immune to the specific bacteria or virus (pathogen) that the disease cannot spread. How do doctors and scientists know when a population has reached herd immunity? The answer is scientific modeling, a process where scientists aim to take a phenomenon and make it easier to understand, so predictions can be made about the real world.
Resources
What is Epigenetics?
UnitHuman genetics influence a big part of who we are, what we look like and how we act. But they’re not the whole story. Epigenetic modifications are changes that can modify how your DNA is expressed while maintaining the actual sequence of nucleotides.
Mass vs. Weight
UnitScientists need to be able to describe matter in a way that translates to all languages and places, including space. Mass is a unit of measure used all over the world – even on Mars. With an understanding of mass, students will have another essential tool in their scientist toolkit.
Density
UnitScientists need to be able to measure matter with different tools. Density is used to measure all forms of matter. With an understanding of density, students will have another tool to describe matter in their toolbelt.