We are looking forward to being back in our newly remodeled teaching labs for semester II, 2025. We will be scheduling all field trips (on-the-road field trips starting in October or in-person field trips for semester II) by the end of September. The “Book Now” button will be live on this page when available.
Geared to middle, high school and college students and their teachers, Biotechnology Field Trips are designed as a 0.5 to 5 hour visit to the BioPharmaceutical Technology Center in Madison, Wisconsin. Supported by instructors, a fully-equipped molecular biology laboratory and ample time, students are able to immerse themselves in the concepts of biotechnology, and to apply those concepts by learning hands-on techniques.
Depending on which experiences you select, fees range from $5/student to $13/student per lab (see also: Cancellation Policy). Some of the field trips can also be taught in an On The Road format and brought to your school, or to any suitable classroom space. Our labs have a maximum capacity of 80 students at a time – we are happy to work with larger groups in multiple shifts throughout the day or/or week depending on the lab!
Try out our new Agar Art field trip: students will learn about different chromogenic proteins and how they can be expressed using bacteria. Students will then head into the lab where they can each “paint” different colored bacteria onto an agar plate. The following day, BTC Institute staff will photograph the bacterial art and send the results to the participants in 1-3 business days (depending on time of field trip, plates may need to incubate longer). Typical colors available are pink, orange, yellow, yellow-lime, blue, purple. This lab can be taken On the Road!
Key Topics: Genetic Engineering, Protein Expression, Plating and Sterile Technique
Length of Field Trip: 0.5 – 1 hour
Cost of Field Trip: $100 per lab session for 1 – 40 students
Click each field trip below for more information.
Introductory field trips are designed for students of all levels who wish to engage both their hands and minds in a fun biotechnology activity!
Intermediate field trips are designed for students at a high school level or above who have had exposure to the concepts of molecular biology. Students that have had experience in the laboratory with micropipettes will be at a distinct advantage when they explore concepts that are fundamental to the way in which modern biotechnology works!
Add-on labs require an incubation or teach a shorter technique – they must be booked with at least one other field trip option.
Modules combine multiple field trips in one BTC Institute experience. We’ve included a few examples, but feel free to mix and match field trips that fit your time frame and goals of your experience; we will do our best to customize a story that connects the labs together.
“We had an absolutely outstanding time, and the balance of background information in the auditorium and lab time was perfect.”
- Sarah Wright, Eagle School science teacher
