Headwaters Semester Research Experience 2025

The Headwaters Research Experience is an engaging 3-part STEM remote, virtual, global extracurricular program that guides students through creating a research project on any topic imaginable. Under the mentorship of a professional scientist, students pose research questions, design a study, and analyze their data.

What students come away with:

Formal research paper
Finalized research presentation
Confidence in their ability to contribute to science in a meaningful way

How the program works:

Hands-on parts of science and builds student creativity
Students can design and execute their projects, conduct field research, and learn how to analyze their findings
Mentored by a professional scientist
Students complete a polished research presentation and a formal research paper
- Students will submit research papers for publication
- All research papers are included in the Headwaters Research Journal
Students meet digitally with the entire cohort once a week and in digital private sessions with their assigned mentor twice per week
At the end of their program, students give a public presentation on their research

Time commitment:

This program requires an estimated four to eight hours per week

Part 1:

Students will work with their scientist mentor and peers to develop a research question and design a corresponding research project.

Part 2:

Students work independently to collect data. Students use the techniques they designed to gather information in accordance with the scientific method. Mentors guide students through statistical analysis so that students can interpret the information they’ve collected.

Part 3:

Students will showcase their hard work by creating a research presentation and authoring a research paper alongside their mentor. In addition to being published in the Headwaters Research Journal, all student research papers are submitted to a youth science journal for publication.