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EPIC Bioscience

Driven by Data

About EPIC Bioscience

EPIC Bioscience development was funded by the National Science Foundation under Grant #1812844.
EPIC Bioscience investigations seek to engage students in the full experience of science investigations, using digitized specimens from natural history museums to make investigations concrete and compelling!
EPIC Bioscience believes that all students deserve early, authentic opportunities with real research specimens and meaningful research investigations!
Students begin with a learn-by-doing activity to highlight the phenomenon in question, helping students develop key background knowledge and to identify critical questions. A virtual scientist mentor guides students through data collection and analysis, helping them see how evidence is gathered and used to inform research findings. Finally, students use their results to create evidence-based arguments that they can use to communicate with others.
EPIC Bioscience investigations are free for educational use and available to anyone with an internet connection!

Why EPIC?

Specimens in the world’s natural history museums contain the data needed to explore and address multiple, pressing global issues (including impact of biodiversity loss and rapid ecosystem changes). Even so, museum specimens are woefully underutilized as classroom resources for learning about research and bioscience.
EPIC Bioscience believes that all students deserve the opportunity to learn with high-quality, scientific collections from museums.
EPIC Bioscience also builds upon the belief that students should be answering meaningful scientific questions with real data. While there have been some efforts to provide students with existing data, students can find provided datasets to be abstract and difficult to interpret. This is why EPIC Bioscience prioritizes opportunities for students to gather their own data as a means of understanding how data is collected and organized.
EPIC Bioscience believes that students learn best when they can answer scientific questions based on their own data, collected from compelling specimens.
EPIC Bioscience also, attempts to bridge the gap between authentic research and student-friendly activities. EPIC Bioscience uses virtual scientists from the Natural History Museum of Utah, coupled with digitized specimens from museum collections, to guide students through an authentic but fully-supported science investigation.
EPIC Bioscience believes that students benefit from learning with a variety of real specimens, real scientists, and real research processes.