Future leaders, make your voice heard about the world you want to live in by filling out this 5-min survey!

Students Ask Scientists: Video Chats

Provided by: Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant |Published on: May 15, 2026

Activity - Classroom

5-12

Synopsis

This program allows teachers in the Great Lakes area to schedule a 30-60-minute live student-facing call with a scientist.
Teachers have the option of a student-driven Q&A session or a short presentation given by the scientist, followed by a brief discussion.
Teachers can schedule lab or office calls year-round or shipboard calls in the late spring and early summer.

Subjects: Science

Authors: Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant

Region: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio

Languages: English

Positives

This is an incredibly engaging way for students to gain exposure to careers in science.
Students will love getting to pose their questions live to a real scientist!

Prerequisites

Teachers will need to fill out a form and set up a test call before they can have the student-facing call.
Because calls are based on scientists' availability, teachers may want to collaborate with students' other teachers to allow for flexibility in the schedule.

Differentiation & Implementation

Before the call, teachers can implement a mini-lesson to build students' background knowledge about the scientist's field of study if this has not already been covered in the curriculum.
Teachers may wish to have students get their questions pre-approved before having the call with the scientist.
To make connections between the Great Lakes area and climate change, students can check out this video.

Scientist Notes

Teaching Tips

Standards

Resource Type and Format

All resources can be used for your educational purposes with proper attribution to the content provider.