McPherson Eye Research Institute
Working Together to Understand, Protect and Restore Vision

Outreach Training Session

This event has passed.

WIMR 9th Floor hall
@ 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Are you interested in getting the next generation interested in vision science? Would you like the opportunity to teach kids about the wonders of the eye and vision? Are you looking for a way to give back to the Madison community through educational outreach? If so, then we invite you to take part in our McPherson ERI Outreach Training Session and in our family/children’s outreach events this fall semester!

The McPherson ERI Outreach Committee has scheduled a volunteer training session on Thursday, September 18th, from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm. The event will take place in these three spaces:
HSLC 1248, the WIMR 9000A conference room, and the adjoining 9th-floor Vision Gallery foyer. Pizza and refreshments will be provided for all volunteers.
From about 3:00 pm to ~3:30 pm, we will be giving a hands-on tutorial on how to perform a bovine eye dissection lesson for students at Wisconsin public schools. (NOTE: The dissection lesson occurs in HSLC 1248, and participants should meet outside that room at 3 pm.) After the dissection tutorial, we will walk to WIMR 9000A for a tutorial on how to teach our “In the Dark and in the Light” comparative ophthalmology lesson – designed for Madison Metropolitan School District 8th-grade classes, but adaptable to 6th and 7th-grade students, depending on their preparation.

From ~3:45 pm to 5 pm, experienced Outreach volunteers on the 9th floor WIMR hallway will introduce the following MERI exploration stations available to use at events such as Family Science Nights, UW Science Expeditions (April 2026), and demonstrations in Madison Metropolitan Public Schools:

  • Can You Believe Your Eyes?
  • How We Perceive Color
  • Depth Perception / Binocular Vision
  • Be Wise, Shade Your Eyes
  • Different Ways of Seeing

For a more detailed overview of all our programs and lessons, please check out the ‘Community Engagement’ wing of the McPherson ERI website here. You are welcome to attend all the trainings or to attend just one of the sessions. We encourage you to become involved, augmenting your own vision knowledge as you teach others!

The first outreach events of the semester will be the 2025 East High School Science Expo (October 15th) and the 2025 Science on the Square event (October 16th from 5-9 pm). If you are interested in participating in either of these, you should definitely join us for the September training session.

By Monday, September 15th, please indicate your interest in attending one or both of the two sessions by signing up here:

https://uwmadison.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cuzIU5HsJ72otSK

If you have any questions about the trainee or the community outreach events mentioned above, please email Dr. Jonathan Lang (jonathanlang@wisc.edu).