By Ishi Vats
On April 25th, NJRI hosted our April Egg Drop Workshop at Leonia Public Library!
Attendees conducted a hands-on experiment on the effectiveness of protective designs for eggs. After the experiment, they collected and analyzed quantitative and qualitative data and shared their results! Through this workshop, attendees were able to implement a real-time process for developing an experimental design and see how it fits into the scientific method.
We would like to thank Leonia Public Library for allowing us to host our workshop and the volunteers for dedicating their time to set up and assist the attendees! Special shout out to Event Team member Avril for proposing this workshop idea!
By Deshna Shah
On November 1st NJRI hosted our Slime Science Workshop in collaboration with Clifton Public Library! During our workshop, students explored the fascinating properties of slime and learned about the scientific method. They conducted experiments by making slime with different ingredients—such as baking soda, lotion, and shampoo—to observe how these variables affected its texture and consistency.
The kids carefully recorded their observations and data, practicing skills in measurement, analysis, and scientific reasoning. By the end of the workshop, they had gained hands-on experience in experimentation while discovering how small changes in ingredients can impact the properties of a material.
We give a big thanks to Clifton Public Library, our NJRI members who volunteered, and Event Team member Eleanor who came up with the workshop idea!
By Avril Gabriel
On September 27th, 2025, the BCA Chapter of NJRI hosted their first event: the September Research Seminar at Leonia Public Library!
We’d like to thank Leonia Public Library for letting us use their space to host our seminar, our presenters for presenting their research to our audience, and our NJRI volunteers who were able to come help set up and bring snacks! As the students arrived, NJRI gave a presentation about basic research, steps, and ways to start your own research. Then, our lovely presenters showed their research to our audience. Afterwards, we gave our students some snacks to enjoy! We are grateful that everything went smoothly and cannot wait to host another!
September 2025
NJRI is proud to launch our very FIRST chapter at Bergen County Academies (BCA)!
BCA is the #1 BCTS District high school, #2 high school in NJ, #14 STEM high school, and #41 high school in USA. Many NJRI members + our Executive Board are BCA students, so we're very excited to bring NJRI's free STEM opportunities, like research seminars (free presentation platforms!) to BCA!
If you're a BCA student, join the chapter ASAP!
If you want to bring NJRI to your high school + make a real impact in STEM research in your area, start a chapter ASAP (to be eligible for promotion to County Director)!
On Friday, August 29, 2025, NJRI hosted a special Back2School virtual event for incoming freshmen at Bergen County Academies (BCA)! The BCA students on NJRI's Executive Board really enjoyed sharing info about studies, social life, and STEM research with the new high schoolers. Attendees learned some special tips about navigating the campus, making the most of their freshmen trip, starting research at BCA, and more! We loved meeting the freshmen, and hope to offer more events for freshies soon! If you're a BCA student and want more events like this, join the chapter.
If you want to bring NJRI to your high school + make a real impact in STEM research in your area, start a chapter ASAP (to be eligible for promotion to County Director)!
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
After just 2 months, New Jersey Research Initiative is elated to announce that we now have over 50 members! With driven students from a variety of counties, we're growing our network of aspiring STEM researchers by the minute! NJRI is extremely happy that we can offer our leadership & volunteer opportunities to this many students. We hope to continue reaching ambitious learners throughout NJ aiming to make a real impact in their communities and the future of science!
Want the inside scoop on STEM research?
On Friday, July 25th, 2025, NJRI ran our first workshop at Bayonne Public Library!
We're extremely grateful to Bayonne Public Library for hosting us and helping us advertise this event. Our amazing attendees learned Basic Lab Skills and conducted a real experiment! They learned about pH, making solutions, and completed a serial dilutions diagram. They tested the pH of different vinegar-water solutions, then recorded and graphed their data. We're elated that everyone had a great time and learned valuable information about science and research! NJRI can't wait for our next workshop!
On Saturday, June 21st, 2025, NJRI hosted our first event: the June Research Seminar!
We would like to give a big thanks to Leonia Public Library for hosting us. We're super glad that presenters Yena Kim and Julia (Yoonah) Cho came and shared their wonderful research. We would also like to acknowledge the efforts of our NJRI team, without whom this event wouldn't have been possible! On event day, there was a bit of traffic, but we still managed to set up the venue, lay out refreshments, and put out our activities for attendees on time. After the students arrived, NJRI members presented on some basics of research, presenters shared their work, and then it was time for snacks! We're elated with how well our first research seminar went and can't wait to host many more!