The Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences’ Immersive Learning through Science Storytelling Lab has been honored by the New Jersey State Senate in a joint legislative resolution that describes the lab as having “established a model worthy of emulation and set a standard toward which others might strive.”
Image of the Broader Vision award presented to the Rutgers’ Immersive Learning Through Science Storytelling Lab.
On March 30, the SEBS science storytelling team, led by James Simon, Dena Seidel, Xenia Morin, Marissa Staffen, Oscar Schofield, and with collaborating students, including Or Doni, Emily Schneider, Colby Koutrakos, Ben Lerner, Bella Burnworth, Zolani Kizito, Shaniya Utamidata, Amaya Baez and Nicole Nikolova, were presented with the State Senate resolution at the 25th Annual Garden State Film Festival by Diane Raver, festival founder and executive director of the New Jersey Film Academy. The presentation of the resolution coincided with the festival’s Broader Vision Award, recognizing SEBS’ storytelling lab’s commitment to providing students with experiential learning and a welcoming environment for interdisciplinary collaboration. The resolution states:
“The Rutgers University Immersive Learning through Science Storytelling Lab has secured a sterling reputation for developing science film leaders whose projects seek to raise awareness of environmental issues and increase public trust in science, and to that end, the faculty and staff have fostered strong partnerships between student filmmakers and university scientists, thus facilitating a welcoming space in which young people are empowered to explore their creative abilities.”
The short science film, Biting Back, directed by Rutgers undergraduates Or Doni and Emily Schneider, was screened at this year’s Garden State Film Festival. The storytelling team won the festival’s “Best Documentary Trailer” award for their science-in-action feature film in development, Mysteries of 9° North, directed by Dena Seidel. This production involves 12 undergraduates and features the NSF-funded deep-sea microbial research of Professor Costantino Vetriani.
Rutgers Senior Vice President for Research, Dr. Michael E. Zwick, recognizes the importance of the lab’s storytelling methods.
“Congratulations to the Rutgers University Immersive Learning through Science Storytelling Lab. Storytelling about the critical work done by researchers and innovators across Rutgers and other research universities illustrates how we address and produce solutions to the ever-growing societal challenges to improve people’s lives,” said Zwick. “When research universities receive the needed support through funding and partnerships, we build a brighter, stronger Nation together.”
The lab’s projects are based on a science-in-action video storytelling model developed by the team. They are overseen by Dena Seidel, a science communication and food system researcher at SEBS, as well as a science storytelling mentor. On April 18, Seidel, Morin, and 10 Rutgers students were invited to present their science-in-action stories and the FAME after-school program at the national Planet Forward environmental storytelling conference at George Washington University.
“The Rutgers team is helping the public understand and see the scientific process as a journey of discovery driven by compelling and relatable people who are scientists,” said Frank Sesno, founding director of Planet Forward.
The Rutgers science storytelling team presenting their work at the Planet Forward conference on April 18, 2025. In attendance, SEBS’ Dena Seidel and Xenia Morin and students Or Doni, Colby Koutrakos, Ben Lerner, Bella Burnworth, Zolani Kizito, Shaniya Utamidata, Amaya Baez, Nicole Nikolova, Erin Quinn and Javy Cortez, who were joined by Planet Forward’s founding director Frank Sesno and environmental writer Bill McKibben.
The lab’s USDA-funded Food, Agriculture, and Marine (FAME) 4-H Ag Tech afterschool program provides immersive STEM learning for local high school students who come each week to Rutgers to make science video stories in trusting partnerships with university scientists. The lab is supported by Rutgers School of Communications graduate Sean Feuer, who has been managing hundreds of hours of original science-in-action video data.
“These science stories share the lives of real-world scientists who seek to better understand the world and provide audiences with an opportunity to learn and draw their own conclusions. Through this storytelling collaboration, I am now a welcome member of a scientific research team,” said Ben Lerner, School of Arts and Sciences sophomore and philosophy major, and a member of the Mysteries of 9° North science-in-action film project.
The Rutgers University Immersive Learning through Science Storytelling Lab is generously supported by Rutgers alumni Don (Rutgers College’69) and Penny Pray (Douglass College’70).
The New Jersey State Senate and General Assembly Joint Legislative Resolution recognizing the work of Rutgers’ Immersive Learning through Science Storytelling Lab and presented on March 30, 2025.
Original article at SEBS NJAES Newsroom