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Independent Science Research

Jack - Cleaning Up Our Water

Jack loves our campus and wants to make sure the water that flows through is as clean as it can be, so he tested how effective plants can be at detoxifying those sources.

Sophia - Teaching Lemurs

Sophia is teaching lemur's how to count—how many other high school students can say that? This ambitious research project is just one of many unique learning opportunities at Millbrook.

Allison - Carbon Neutrality

Allison's research is leaving a legacy at Millbrook in more ways than one. She is helping the school in its pursuit of carbon neutrality by planting trees to negate the carbon footprint of Koenigsberger Hall. As her trees grow they will continue to benefit Millbrook's green initiatives.

Sylvie - Measuring Test Anxiety

As a high school student, Sylvie knows that test can be stressful, so for her project she analyzed the psychology behind the process, how it effects her classmates, and what strategies students use to keep their cool.

Alex - Bacteria Diversity

Alex has taken his bacteria research beyond Millbrook's campus to determine if the presence of the Trevor Zoo has an affect on bacteria levels on the campus as a whole. It's a dirty job, but he loves it!

Arthur - Fueling Brains

Students at Millbrook are encouraged to pursue their passions, and for Arthur, that is health and nutrition. Using fellow classmates as test subjects, he has turned the dining hall into his own personal lab to determine the ideal breakfast for brain performance.

Millbrook's Programs

Science Research

Our science department offers a unique independent science research opportunity for motivated students. Students enrolled in this class conduct one of two forms of research: one that involves creating and conducting an original experiment or a second that involves contributing to an existing experiment. The latter option could involve assisting in data collection for research being done on Millbrook’s campus or partnering with a scientist at a local university or research facility. Participants meet as a group with a teacher once a week and must be prepared to organize their work and time to meet specific goals. Research completed as part of this class is presented in Millbrook’s Science Conference at the end of the spring semester.

Millbrook’s unique 800-acre campus, including wetlands, streams, forests, and the Trevor Zoo, provides a plethora of unique learning opportunities in the sciences. Students of environmental science, for example, use all of these resources to examine basic ecological principles and analyze human impacts on the biosphere. The course is both scientific and multidisciplinary in its approach and challenges students to use the best scientific theory, research, and data to understand a variety of contemporary environmental problems and viewpoints. 

Independent Study

Independent study is a semester-long or year-long directed course of study through which a VIth former or, occasionally, a Vth former may investigate topics of particular interest that may not be covered fully within Millbrook’s academic program. Normally, the pursuit of independent study is carried on after a student has exhausted the course offerings within the academic program, or in conjunction with a student’s work in an honors or advanced course.

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