DRI Science Alive

About Science Alive

Science Alive conducts education and engagement for the Desert Research Institute, a global scientific research and development institute under the Nevada System of Higher Education. The mission of Science Alive is to support PreK-12 educators in science-based, environmental education by providing the tools, resources, and knowledge they need, so all students acquire the knowledge and skills needed to work, live and contribute in our community. Science Alive achieves our mission by providing inquiry-based STEM curriculum through our Green Boxes, offering Educator Trainings and Workshops throughout the school year, and through School Support in the form of speakers, field trips, and special opportunities.

We, of the Desert Research Institute, acknowledge that the places where we conduct science have deep ancestral ties to the Indigenous peoples who have inhabited these lands since time immemorial, and we recognize that these communities continue to thrive today. We respect traditional knowledge systems and Indigenous wisdom that originated before the Western scientific approach, and that evolved with and cannot be separated from these sacred lands. We value these knowledge systems that continue today as a way of understanding our intrinsic relationships with land, water, air, people, and ecosystems.

We express our gratitude for the opportunity to live and work on and in proximity to these traditional homelands. We acknowledge the original and continued sovereignty of Native nations in our region – Numu, Nuwu/Nuwuvi, Newe, and Wašiw/Wašišiw – and everywhere.

This is our commitment to conducting science with a conscience, which includes decolonizing science and rejecting the beliefs that have led to physical and cultural removal of Indigenous peoples from their traditional homelands, so that our work is respectful, collaborative, and beneficial for all. We will listen to, include, and elevate diverse ways of cultivating knowledge, and ally with Indigenous scientists.