Making Science Make Sense

Local Support

Bayer takes its role as a responsible corporate citizen very seriously. Through our philanthropic efforts, student and family engagement programs, teacher development activities, and devoted employee involvement, we are dedicated to STEM education and being a valued neighbor in our site locations.

 

Employee Volunteerism

Bayer is committed to advancing science literacy in the communities where we live and work. Every Bayer employee receives 16 hours of volunteer paid time off annually to participate in a wide-range of activities and causes that are important to them. Our dedicated employees spend a countless number of those hours, and many more, motivating students and teachers through hands-on learning experiments and interactive workshops through Bayer’s Making Science Make Sense® initiative. Their commitment to service is helping to inspire the next generation of scientists and making an impact in local communities all across the United States.

 

Community Programs

A community is only as strong as the people who live in it. By bringing science to the community level, Bayer is helping to encourage critical thinking, creativity and a better understanding of the world around us. But businesses can't do it alone. That is why Bayer’s Making Science Make Sense initiative seeks to involve families, neighborhoods and school districts to provide positive, inquiry-based learning experiences. By investing in the future of their children through science, Bayer knows that communities are also investing in their own future growth.

 

For decades, Bayer employees at our site locations across the country have been volunteering to support programs in science education. As a result, thousands of students have been learning about science in a hands-on, minds-on way. To learn more about local Making Science Make Sense activity, and how our employees are helping students, teachers and families engage in hands-on science in the community, click on a Bayer location in the map below.

 

Map

 

Site Activity

Berkeley, California

In California, the Bayer Pharmaceuticals division is a STEM education leader with its work advancing hands-on science learning programs through philanthropic giving, employee volunteerism and public policy engagement.

 

Making Science Make Sense outreach includes:

 

  • Biotech Partners: Launched in 1992 through a 30-year Development Agreement between Bayer and the City of Berkeley, Biotech Partners is an independent nonprofit that prepares disadvantaged high school and community college students for careers in the high-paying biotech industry. Bayer made a 30-year commitment to Biotech Partners, beginning with $1.1 million to develop the program over the first five years. The comprehensive program includes academics, personal support services and paid internships. Bayer provides 23 paid internships each year and has hired 52 program graduates. Biotech Partners serves approximately 130 students annually, which will increase in the 2015-16 school year as the program expands into South San Francisco and Antioch, California.

 

  • Community Resources for Science: CRS provides teachers with training and resources to enhance hands-on science lessons as well as operates one of the nation’s largest science volunteer programs. Bayer has supported CRS from its founding in 1998. In 2010, Bayer funded a successful pilot project aimed at stepping up classroom volunteering within science companies.

 

  • East Bay Economic Development Alliance: Through EBEDA’s Business Engagement in Education Subcommittee, Bayer is working on a regional basis to create a “business-led engagement strategy” that encourages more businesses to engage, provides efficient channels for them to do so, and creates an ongoing dialogue with K-16 educators and policy makers to help break down the barriers to building a diverse local STEM workforce.

 

  • Institute for STEM Education - California State University, East Bay: Since 2010, Bayer has contributed $1.4 million to establish this “backbone organization” that advances science education on a regional scale. Priorities include increasing diversity both in STEM teaching and in industry, improving the science skills of preK-12 teachers, and collaborating with industry and educators to create seamless career pathways that include both rigorous academics and eye-opening work experiences. A particular focus of the Institute is to expand on the Biotech Partners model throughout the region and into all STEM disciplines.

 

  • Making Science Make Sense Grants: In 2014, Bayer’s Berkeley and San Francisco sites contributed $76,750 to local science education organizations. In addition, the Bayer USA Foundation donated $600,000 to the Institute for STEM Education at California State University, East Bay.

 

Greater Kansas City Area

In the Greater Kansas City Area, science is the thread that ties two Bayer focus areas – animal health and crop science – together. We need scientists, engineers, veterinarians and researchers to come work for us, and we need a science literate citizenry who understand how and why our products leave the world a better place.

 

Bayer’s science education commitment in Kansas City began in 1974 and was formally organized under the Making Science Make Sense initiative in 1994. Today, about 50 employees from Bayer’s Crop Science division and Animal Health business work together to provide hands-on, inquiry-based science to local students in the Greater Kansas City metropolitan area.

 

The employee-based and volunteer-led MSMS team:

 

  • Collaborates with local school districts to provide hands-on, inquiry-based science activities in which Bayer employees visit classrooms and conduct experiments alongside students.

 

  • Provides science fair judges and STEM career development mentors and speakers.

 

  • Offers job shadowing and internship opportunities for high school and college students pursuing various scientific disciplines.

 

  • Develops long-term relationships with partner schools, such as Fairmount Elementary and the Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) program in the Blue Valley School District, to provide year-round science initiatives for students and enhance STEM-related instruction.

 

  • Designs and hosts professional development opportunities to help local teachers utilize more hands-on science activities in their classrooms.

 

  • Offers hands-on science activities at community events and venues, such as the National Agriculture Hall of Fame and American Royal’s School Tours program.

 

Memphis, Tennessee

Bayer Consumer Health in Memphis is the Innovation Hub for Sun Care and Foot Care in the U.S. with more than 100 employees who work on various initiatives throughout the year to promote Innovation and Science in and around our community. Memphis has a unique location bordering Arkansas and Mississippi, which are included in our educational and volunteerism efforts.

 

Making Science Make Sense outreach includes:

 

  • Education: Activities at local Grammar Schools, High Schools and Universities include participation in Career Days, Science Fair judging, Girl’s Inc. STEM Trade Show, collaborations at the University of Memphis and University of Mississippi, general funds and sponsorship toward a new Science Lab at Brinkley Heights Urban Academy, Bayer Consumer Center and lab tours, MIB – Memphis Innovation Boot Camp, and STEM presentations at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

 

  • Events: Each year, Bayer I&D Memphis sponsors the Coppertone Beach Bash at the Target House for patients of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and their families. The Coppertone Beach Bash is a carnival/field day that promotes and educates about sun and skin safety.

 

Myerstown, Pennsylvania

Bayer's flagship product, Bayer Aspirin, is produced in Myerstown, Pennsylvania, by Bayer’s Consumer Health division. This site formalized its Making Science Make Sense program in 2004 with the launch of the Bayer Making Science Make Sense Scholar Search in Central Pennsylvania.

 

In Myerstown, Bayer and MSMS volunteers:

 

  • Partner with school districts in Lebanon County to provide hands-on, inquiry-based science to students. Employee volunteers visit local classrooms and conduct hands-on science experiments with students and teachers, and serve as school science fair judges.

 

  • Participate in the Bayer MSMS Scholar Search.

 

  • Provide opportunities for local high school and college students to shadow professors, such as those at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pennsylvania.

 

  • Donate $10,000 to the Whitaker Centers of Science in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

 

New Jersey (Morristown, Parsippany, Whippany)

At the Bayer Consumer Health and Bayer Pharmaceutical divisions in New Jersey, there are more than 150 employee volunteers across three locations (Morristown, Parsippany and Whippany) who work on various initiatives throughout the year to support and promote Bayer's favorite subject – science.

 

Making Science Make Sense outreach includes:

 

  • School Visits: Working with teachers in school districts, including Dover, Cedar Knolls, Chester, Hanover, Morristown, Roxbury, and Whippany, Bayer scientists help conduct experiments in classrooms and serve as judges at school science fairs.

 

  • Community Festivals: Engaging in festivals and fun days in Hanover and Morristown to bring science into the community.

 

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

At the Bayer site in Pittsburgh, employee volunteers take an active role in improving STEM education in local schools, communities and special events. Our goals are to spark and nurture children’s natural curiosity and cultivate a better understanding of the STEM principles. Through hands-on, inquiry-based science education, Bayer volunteers promote science through different educational methods.

 

MSMS volunteer-led activities include:

 

  • Science is Fun: Hands-on science experiments that bring scientific concepts to life.

 

  • Science Fairs/Judging: Helping to coordinate school science fairs as well as participating as judges at different fairs.

 

  • Special Events: Hands-on chemistry/science experiments in coordination with on-site events and local area events.

 

  • Wildlife Habitat: Bayer’s Pittsburgh location is a “National Wildlife Habitat Corporate Lands for Learning Site.” Bayer employee’s partner with local elementary schools and community outreach teams to conduct hands-on, inquiry based environmental learning activity.
    • Pond Life: Students visit the on-campus pond to explore its ecosystem and habitats, enjoying bullfrog tadpoles, dragonflies and more.
    • Team Flight (Wings of Wonder): This activity takes students to three different habitats on the Bayer campus (Woodlands, Forest, Wetlands) to view the birds and learn how they adapt to their environment.

 

  • Job Shadowing and Career Fairs: An integral part of the MSMS program, this component inspires students to focus on a career in a STEM field.

 

Research Triangle Park, North Carolina

The Bayer Crop Science division in Research Triangle Park recognizes the importance of STEM education to the area. Not only does it mean our students will have a firmer grounding in subjects that are vitally important for getting them college- and career-ready, but the region’s STEM employers will also have access to a STEM pipeline prepared to continue innovating, inventing and discovering. With a strong STEM workforce, the RTP region will continue to grow, prosper and provide real economic opportunity for its residents.

 

Through Bayer’s Making Science Make Sense initiative, employees have visited with thousands of students throughout the region to help ignite a passion for STEM and give them access to real-life professionals who serve as mentors and role models to budding scientists and engineers. Bayer also supports teacher professional development in science. For the last five years, RTP has hosted teacher-training workshops that provide hands-on, inquiry-based science resources and instruction, helping teachers hone their teaching styles and deepen their science content knowledge.

 

West Sacramento, California

The Bayer Crop Science division in West Sacramento, California, is the global headquarters of Business Management, Biologics, focused on innovative biological pest management solutions. Located approximately 90 miles east of San Francisco, this site houses the Bayer Crop Science Center of Excellence for Research and Development in Biologics, making Bayer a leading company for research, development and production of microbial-based crop protection products. West Sacramento is also home to Bayer’s Crop Science Vegetable Seeds Research & Development team.

 

In a community where education is greatly valued but sometimes under-funded, Bayer employees take pride in enriching the educational experience of local students. The West Sacramento Making Science Make Sense team originated in 2012, and is made up of more than 40 employee volunteers who have committed to hosting or attending at least one STEM education outreach event or classroom visit per month.

 

Making Science Make Sense outreach includes:

  • Classroom Visits: Half-day visits to classrooms in regional schools resulting in enhanced learning and excitement for students and teachers. The MSMS Volunteer Team brings all of the supplies necessary to provide students with three hands-on science experiments, plus a basic overview of the team’s research areas, and handouts for teachers and students. Classroom visits are designed especially for the specific grade level (typically K-8).

 

  • Teacher Workshops: In July 2015, West Sacramento hosted its first Making Science Make Sense Teacher Workshop. Spanning a wide range of grades, subject matters and backgrounds, the group of 22 visiting teachers all shared the common goal of bringing engaging science experiments to students in their classrooms. Participants traveled from all over northern California to attend the event. The group received intensive, hands-on guidance from the MSMS Volunteer Team for three experiments: Exploring Agar, Alka-Rockets and Strawberry DNA Extraction. Between experiments, guests also received a guided tour of the Biologics labs, an overview presentation of our business and research, and the opportunity to network with other STEM program leaders. Teachers also received a take-home experiment kit, equipped with a classroom set of supplies to share with their students when school resumes, a Bayer resource bag, and a USB drive containing Making Science Make Sense experiment protocols.
    • STEM Conferences and Events: Bayer supports and participates in a variety of regional STEM Conferences, including the Sacramento region Expanding Your Horizons Conference, Careers in Agriculture Day, Girl Scouts Heart of Central California STEM events, Dinner with a Scientist, UC Davis’s Teen BioTech Challenge, Discovery Days at AT&T Park, and the Synopsys Sacramento Regional STEM Fair.

 

  • Partnerships: Together with other regional educational efforts, Bayer is working to improve science and agricultural literacy. Partnerships include Powerhouse Science Center, Sacramento Area Science Project, University of California Davis, California State University, Sacramento and Washington Unified School District (West Sacramento).

 

  • Donations: Bayer volunteers collected, cleaned and delivered 48 boxes of gently used donated office supplies to the local West Sacramento school district (Washington Unified) and thousands of dollars’ worth of used lab equipment to CSU Sacramento.
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