December is here, and the traditional signs are all around campus. Cold winds blow. Snow flurries fly. UVM students hunker down for finals. And local eighth graders are taking fieldtrips to the STEM complex and the Davis Center.

Browns River Middle School has a many-year history of bringing students to UVM during finals week for the students to get a feel for what college is like and see some exciting science demonstrations. They return this year, coordinated by Lisa Windhausen, who brought 48 students to see hour-long science shows from the Chemistry and Physics Departments.