NECC Professor Kevin Mitchell, third from left, works with left to right NECC lab science students Darrin Perrault of Haverhill, Angie Abreu of Methuen, and Gabriela Santana of Lawrence.

Northern Essex Community College will host a Research Open House for its Laboratory Science Program on Thursday, May 11, from 5 to 8:30 p.m. in room E263 on the Haverhill campus. Interested middle/high school students and teachers, the entire NECC community and the general public are all encouraged to attend this free event.

Attendees will have the opportunity to view hands-on demonstrations, get a tour of the college’s laboratories and speak with students and faculty in the lab science program. The labs will be set up like a miniature science museum, with stations where people can — among other things — learn how to identify fingerprints using a technique called superglue fuming; decapitate a flatworm to see how it regenerates its head; and use a spectrophotometer to determine the amount of a chemical in solution based on the color.

A poster session will be held from 6 to 7 p.m., during which students and alumni will showcase the knowledge and skills they’ve gained through their classwork. All participants will also be entered into a raffle to win one of three Amazon Fire tablets with 8 GB of storage. For more information, or to request sign language interpreting or other access services, contact Kevin Mitchell at kmitchell1@necc.mass.edu.

NECC offers an associate degree in applied sciences that is perfect for anyone looking for a job right after graduation in the exciting field of life sciences as an entry-level laboratory technician. Students in the program gain a strong theoretical background in chemistry and the associated sciences, learn technical lab skills and instrumental analysis, and acquire critical thinking and trouble-shooting skills. Many students also successfully transfer to a four-year college or university to continue their studies.