Calling and Chemistry

A Graduating Senior’s Journey Includes Three National Awards and Discovering a New Destination When Claire Benedict ’23 of Ada, Michigan, was a student at Forest Hills Eastern High School engaged in the college search, it didn’t take long for Hope to make the top of the list. “I wanted a really strong science program where …

Ethnobotany Provides Hands-On Lesson in Culture, History and Traditional Ecological Knowledge

Students in the ethnobotany class taught by Dr. Jennifer Blake-Mahmud received a hands-on lesson in culture and history during their exploration of traditional ecological knowledge earlier this semester. Guest speaker Kelly Church of the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians (Gun Lake Tribe), whose family has practiced the art of black-ash basket weaving for generations, taught …

Joanne Stewart Featured in STEM Video Showcase

Hope College’s Dr. Joanne Stewart, Elmer E. Hartgerink Professor of Chemistry, will be featured in the 2020 STEM for All Video Showcase funded by the National Science Foundation. The event will be held online May 5th -12th at https://stemforall2020.videohall.com. The presentation entitled “Come for the Content, Stay for the Community” looks at how the VIPEr …

In the Garden of Research and Learning

It all started because a giant praying mantis crawled up the side of a parked car. That small creature helped spark a big idea because now a new wildflower garden is in full bloom in its first summer in the “backyard” of the Schaap Science Center. While the garden beautifies another corner of an already-beautiful …

A Vital Partnership Becomes Vitalis

Purchasing a nursing textbook with required, additional materials can be costly at times. Realizing that students might be hard pressed to afford the extras that come with certain books and existing programs on the market, the Hope College nursing department decided to look for a cheaper way to provide a more basic but meaningful version …

For the Love of Trees

Sophomore Katelyn DeWitt was a literal tree hugger for ten weeks during the summer of 2018. She inventoried and measured the trunk diameters of nearly half of the tree population found on public property in the City of Holland for The Holland Tree Project.

To China with Hope

This past spring, for the first time in Hope’s history, not one but two May Term classes traveled to China. In “China’s Modern Growth,” students examined the nation’s economic policies and business development while touring four major cities as well as Hong Kong. In “China: Land, Wildlife and Culture,” students explored the ecosystems of China’s …

Scouting Out ExploreHope

ExploreHope kicks off its 21st summer of instruction in the arts and sciences on June 11 with educational outreach programming to more than 1,000 local K-12 schoolchildren. But ExploreHope’s mission is not confined to only June and July. Did you know ExploreHope offers active Saturday programming during the school year? Did you know ExploreHope provides opportunities for eager Boy and Girl …

Science, Sustainability and a Bahamian Town Dump

Ah, spring break in the Bahamas. Sun. Sand. Palm trees. Snorkeling in coral reefs. Exploring limestone formations. Visiting the town dump. What? Wait. The town dump? Yes, Deep Creek Town Dump to be precise. For more than 20 years, Dr. Brian Bodenbender has had a penchant for teaching and researching coastal geology in the Bahamas, and the weather there has …