What is a Living Lab?

A living lab is a dynamic space that leverages campus for experiential learning through teaching and research beyond the traditional classroom. It also fosters improved mental health and overall well-being for both campus and community members.

Where are the Living Labs?

Living labs are everywhere!  They are any place on campus that can be used for teaching, learning, or research.  Below are a few examples of spaces to explore.

Tree Planting

The Andy Dahl Miyawaki Forest

The Andy Dahl Miyawaki Forest is a half-acre reforestation site located on the hillside northeast of Hillcrest Residence Hall and the largest Miyawaki forest in Iowa. As a living lab, the forest offers a unique, hands-on environment for students to learn about ecological restoration, sustainability, and the importance of campus and community collaboration.
Pharmacy Building and Roots of Medicine

Roots of Medicine

Roots of Medicine is medicinal garden formed as a collaboration between the College of Pharmacy, Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, and community members. Historical drawings and prints of the plants, information on the plant’s historical and modern medicinal uses, and a feed of the most current research are all provided through QR codes in the garden.
ashton priaire

Ashton Prairie Living Laboratory

Situated on the University of Iowa's Ashton Cross Country Course, the Ashton Prairie Living Laboratory (APLL) is an educational and research facility for UI students and researchers and the local community.
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Maps of Living Labs

What do Hawkeyes Say About Living Labs?

"These spaces are vital to the student experience and the success of our classes."

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So Many Researchers on Campus, So Much of Campus to Research

people collecting field data

1 in 3

undergraduates participate in research at the University of Iowa
bioblitz at ashton

31 +

Locations Identified As Potential Living Laboratories
bioblitz microscope

1900 +

Acres of land to explore on campus

Did you know?

Spending time in greenspaces on campus improves cognitive function​, reduces stress, reduces risk of cardiovascular and respiratory mortality​, and reduces social isolation!

Find spaces close to you on campus!

Living Labs Support the University of Iowa Strategic Plan

Events

The Long, Long Voice Trail: Digitizing J.N. “Ding” Darling’s Dictabelts and the Broader Implications for Preserving and Engaging with Obsolete Media promotional image

The Long, Long Voice Trail: Digitizing J.N. “Ding” Darling’s Dictabelts and the Broader Implications for Preserving and Engaging with Obsolete Media

Tuesday, October 6, 2026 6:00pm to 7:00pm
Virtual
Join archivist and exhibition co-curator Collin Vandewalle for a talk about Dictabelts, a now-obsolete analog audio recording format popular in the mid-20th century.
Mid Fall Bird Banding promotional image

Mid Fall Bird Banding

Wednesday, October 7, 2026 7:30am to 9:30am
Macbride Nature Recreation Area - Falcon Shelter
Mid Fall Bird Banding

SEES:7000 Colloquium - Matthew Wilson (Dept. of Geography, University of Kentucky) - "Slow Maps: Cartographic Attention and the Question of Geography"

Thursday, October 8, 2026 3:30pm
Macbride Hall

SEES:7000 Colloquium - Thursday, 10/8/26, 3:30pm, 255 MacBride Hall

Matthew Wilson (Dept. of Geography, University of Kentucky)

Talk: Slow Maps: Cartographic Attention and the Question of Geography

Abstract:

The notion of ‘slow maps’ is a meditation on the map in the context of a frenetic digital culture, an attempt to pursue questions of speed in cartography, set against the rapid pace of cartographic experimentation and development in the last century. I argue that the new opportunity of...