January 28, 2025 — The first half of Marist University Day will spotlight experiential learning through an engaging, interactive expo at the Dyson Center.

Experiential Learning Highlights Open to All
From 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., visitors can participate in hands-on demonstrations showcasing Marist's experiential learning approach. These dynamic exhibitions will just be some of the featured offerings for the Marist community to experience, from a wide range of academic programs.

Explore Virtual Reality
The marketing lab on the second floor of Dyson, administered by the School of Management, features advanced consumer research technology for students to analyze real-world marketing challenges.

• Visitors can test VR headsets and see how eye-tracking and neurological monitoring equipment inform modern marketing strategies.
• “These tools enable students to engage with immersive simulations and analyze physiological responses in marketing scenarios, fostering skills crucial for today's data-driven landscape,” said Dr. Mohammadali Koorank Beheshti, the lab's founding director.

Hands-On Learning
Three distinctive spaces on Dyson’s third floor, home to the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, showcases different aspects of experiential learning:

• The Teaching Methods classroom will be open to have visitors tackle engineering challenges like building spaghetti towers and launching cotton ball rockets. These activities foster scientific understanding, creativity, and insights into children’s thinking and learning.
• The Developmental Psychology Lab will feature live demonstrations of undergraduate researchers engaging children in fun, hands-on tasks that measure key social, emotional, cognitive, and physical skills. Visitors can also see how data is gathered and analyzed, bringing science to life.

Education students teaching children in Teaching Methods Lab. Photo by Bobby Oliver/Marist.

• You are invited to visit the classroom that converts to a mock court room that hosts legal debates and trial simulations, complete with defense, prosecution, witnesses, a judge, a clerk, and a jury.
• “It is critical for our students to take what they are learning about contemporary trends in the field and have these new specialty spaces to apply them,” said Dr. Deborah Gatins, Dean of the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences. “The interdisciplinary opportunities in a School like ours are unique: crime and justice studies, social work, psychology, and teacher education often work together to provide opportunities for students to do research, or internships, across fields.”

Physician Assistant Students practicing with a state-of-the-art AI-powered medical manikin. Photo by Nelson Echeverria/Marist.

Health Care Innovation

• Healthcare innovation will be spotlighted on the third floor with "HAL 5301," (or just "Hal") a state-of-the-art AI-powered medical manikin used by Physician Assistant students. During the expo, PA students will be rendering patient care with Hal, including attaching real medical devices to help with diagnosis.
• “Our exhibition demonstrates how our faculty can have greater involvement in instruction and bedside teaching through the use of AI,” said Jeff Midgley, PA Program Director. “Instead of having our instructor tethered to the computer, they can be beside the students helping them through a complex medical case, instead of worrying about what a student might ask next.”

Additional Interactive Experiences

• The Marist Mosaic will be hosting a poetry and storytelling event at Saxbys, where community members can sip coffee and listen to students bring their original works to life. Interested in showcasing your work? Sign up here.
• The Marist Poll will have student workers on hand to answer questions about its programs on the second floor, including opportunities in data analysis and media. Visitors can also enjoy interactive activities and probability games, such as a prize wheel.
• The expo will also emphasize career readiness through several interactive stations. Students can network with alumni at a special meet-and-greet at the Center for Career Services explore entrepreneurship at the MPorium pop-up shop (on the second floor), and watch real-time internet analytics in action from the Center for Social Media (on the first floor), where student interns will be on hand to meet with any on-campus groups to advise them on their social media.

Cultural and Community Connections
The event also will also celebrate Marist’s global reach through the following activities at Dyson:

• The Study Abroad Photography Exhibition will showcase Marist’s international programs and experiences.
• The Community Chalkboard Art Installation and Philanthropy Station will be open to visitors to share their own Marist stories and reflections.

There is so much more to experience at the expo! Visit marist.edu/university-day for the slate of offerings!