Jenn Smith, The Berkshire Eagle

"Over the course of three weeks, third-grade science classes in three local schools have been able to witness an underwater circle of life from the comfort of their classrooms. For eight years now, through the Winter Study program at Williams College, faculty and students have brought a hands-on biology program called BioEYES into area schools, adapted from a program at the University of Pennsylvania."

James Gaines, Upworthy

"Students at Commodore John Rogers School in Baltimore, Maryland, walk into class on a Monday and find their room transformed. Two high-powered microscopes sit at the back of the class, and each group of desks is topped with a transparent tank occupied by two small, delicate fish: one male, one female. For the next week, these kids will be scientists, and the fish are going to help them."

Valerie Butler, The Node

"I want to talk about how you can take your science teaching to the next level, where young people, and especially underrepresented young people (people of color, LGBT, immigrants, girls, etc.), find what you’re teaching engaging, relevant to their lives, and which research shows that if done thoughtfully, enables them to achieve a higher level of learning. I’m not suggesting you change your science content. Instead, I’d like to illustrate the importance of modifying your teaching to be culturally relevant.”

Andy McKeever, iBerkshires.com

"It starts with a question: what do baby zebrafish look like? Then observation, noting what adult zebrafish look like and how they act. Then a hypothesis, an educated guess on what the babies will look like. And finally, an experiment, breed the fish and see. That's the scientific process third-graders are going through at Lanesborough Elementary School."

Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

"Dissecting a frog has long been the standard animal lab in schools, but those that can afford to acquire and store live animals for an extended experiment like the one with zebrafish could be more effective at engaging students and teaching them the role of scientists.... This type of instruction can be more engaging for students and also more relevant to their future exploration of the field."

Laura Ascione Devaney, eSchool News

"'We expected the students to increase their understanding of the concepts they learned, but what is most promising is the positive increases in their attitudes towards the practice of science,' said first author Jamie Shuda, EdD, director of Outreach and Education at Penn’s Institute for Regenerative Medicine."

Kim Hairston, The Baltimore Sun

“Project BioEyes gives students an opportunity to experience science by growing and studying zebrafish. This hands-on style of teaching may inspire future scientists.”

Meredith Cohn, The Baltimore Sun

"Children learn better by doing rather than just watching, research shows, and educators hope this program, which involves students breeding and raising zebrafish over a week, will engross them enough to learn something and maybe even develop a lasting fascination with natural science."

Preston and Steve, 93.3 WMMR

On December 7, 2016, BioEYES Outreach Educator Tracy Nelson was featured on the Preston & Steve morning radio show (93.3, WMMR) as part of the "Not Your Average Listener" contest, which features listeners of the show who have unique jobs and/or talents. She talked about BioEYES and her unique job of working with zebrafish and students in the Philadelphia area, and won the contest!

El Servicio de Información y Noticias Científicas

"'Ahora sé lo que es ser un científico'. Esta es una de las afirmaciones realizadas por uno de los 20.000 niños menores de 12 años que participaron en un programa dentro del proyecto BioEYES, gracias al cual alumnos de EE UU han criado durante una semana a peces cebra desde su estadio embrionario."

Johns Hopkins University

A program that brings live fish into classrooms to teach the fundamentals of biology not only helps students learn, but improves their attitudes about science.

Jamie R. Shuda, Valerie G. Butler, Robert Vary, Steven A. Farber; PLOS Biology

"We have analyzed 19,463 participating students’ pre- and post-tests within the program to examine their learning growth and attitude changes towards science. We found that at all grade levels, BioEYES effectively increased students’ content knowledge and produced favorable shifts in students’ attitudes about science. These outcomes were especially pronounced in younger students. Having served over 100,000 students, we find that our method for providing student-centered experiences and developing long-term partnerships with teachers is essential for the growth and sustainability of outreach and school collaborations.”

Karen Kreeger, Penn Medicine News Blog

"'We are a community hub that provides hands-on curriculum to our neighborhood schools,' Shuda said. 'Our recipe for teacher professional development, coupled with co-teaching in the classroom serves as a model for sustainability, but also long-term impact during a teacher's career. BioEYES is also often the students' first exposure to live science. Our structure allows for over 3,000 kids a year to have this experience.'"

Heather A. Davis, Penn Current

"This spring, the BioEYES program celebrates a major milestone: It will serve its 100,000th student. That means in the 14 years since BioEYES began, 100,000 elementary, middle, and high school students from Philadelphia and four other sites have been exposed to innovative, hands-on lessons that get them excited about and interested in science. That’s a lot of students. And that’s a lot of zebrafish."

Libby Mitchell, University of Utah Health Care

"In the classroom at Meadowlark, it was easy to see the process at work. Neugebauer asked the class what they think the small black dots on the larvae may be. Some guess gills. Some guess guts. Not one guess is discounted, but students are asked to explain the reasoning behind their guess. Finally, a student posits the dots may be the start of the stripes it will have as an adult. An answer that can be backed up with observable facts is found!"

Zachary Carey, City Springs EMS teacher writing for Baltimore Curriculum Project News

"These organizations allowed students to participate in enriching activities, including water testing, micro-invertebrate collection and observation, identifying and removing invasive species, hiking through the woods on a scavenger hunt, and of course, releasing our trout. The variety of activities provided an opportunity for students to stay engaged and find something uniquely interesting to them."

Williams College students teach BioEYES

BioEYES brings tropical fish to 4th grade classrooms in a science teaching workshop. Elementary students will breed fish in the classroom, then use microscopes to study their development. During the first week, Williams students will learn to set up fish matings, and learn about embryonic development and the genetics of fish pigmentation, as well as practice teaching the 4th grade BioEYES lesson plans with hands-on experiments using living animals. In the subsequent two weeks, we will work in 4th grade classrooms. No zebrafish or science experience is necessary. Visit our website for more information.

Carnegie Institution for Science

"The General Motors Corporation is presenting a $5,000.00 award to Carnegie’s BioEYES K-12 educational program on September 11, 2014, to deliver a two-week environmental curriculum, Your Watershed, Your Backyard. The program, established in 2008, is one of several BioEYES programs using live zebrafish in a hands-on approach to learning and focuses on local watersheds, pollution, and the Chesapeake Bay."

Monash College via the Internet Archive Wayback Machine

"'During activities such as BioEYES, I have regularly used scientific materials and equipment such as the microscope, which has enabled me to apply my knowledge to perform experiments and research. It was amazing to see the embryos grow in front of my eyes – I felt like a mother watching her babies grow up! I want to study pharmacy at Monash one day so programs such as BioEYES really help to develop the skills I need to achieve my dreams.'"