UL Research Institutes’ Xplorlabs Receives Fourth National Recognition in Two Months
Safety Science Education Platform Receives Awards and Honors from Three National Education Publications
EVANSTON, Ill. (April 14, 2025) — UL Research Institutes’ online safety science education platform, Xplorlabs, was honored to receive two national awards and two finalist recognitions for education and leadership excellence in two short months.
Today, Xplorlabs was awarded EdTech Chronicle’s Editor’s Choice for Innovative Learning Tool. Last week, Xplorlabs was named a STEM Solution finalist in EdTech Digest’s Cool Tool Awards and Xplorlabs’ Senior Director Kelly Keena was also named a finalist in EdTech Digest’s Leadership Awards. And in late January, Xplorlabs was awarded Tech & Learning’s Award of Excellence: Best of 2024 in the Secondary Education category.
The EdTech Chronicle is an online publication focused on education and education technology. In its second year, this award recognizes the people, partners, and industry leaders in the EdTech industry across both K-12 and higher education. EdTech Digest’s Awards, in its 15th year, is noted as one of the world’s largest recognition programs for education technology tools, as well as leaders in K-12, higher education, and skills and workforce development. Tech & Learning’s Awards of Excellence celebrate educational technology from the last 12 months that has excelled at supporting teachers, students, and education professionals.
Aligned with Next Generation Science Standards and based on the latest safety research from the world-class institutes that make up UL Research Institutes, Xplorlabs is an online education platform that features four pathways focused on fire safety systems, fire forensics, thermal runaway, and battery supply chains. Each pathway offers individual educational resources including footage from ULRI’s research labs, online interactives, as well as hands-on investigations and engineering challenges designed by education experts and former teachers in ULRI’s Office of Research Experiences & Education.
“Our office is committed to empowering both students and educators by providing open-access resources to help elevate the safety science and STEM careers that are at the heart of the work done by UL Research Institutes,” said OREE’s Senior Director Kelly Keena, Ph.D., who was also named a finalist for EdTech Digest’s Leadership Award. “Through Xplorlabs, we bring the same real-world safety scenarios ULRI researchers and scientists are focused on in the lab into the classroom — helping students better understand the science of safety and how to live safer lives. For educators, we provide flexible resources as well as professional development opportunities ranging from in-depth workshops to educator fellowships that further the connection between safety science and science education.”
Started nearly 10 years ago, Xplorlabs has seen significant growth in recent years. In 2024, the platform was used in more than 4,000 cities globally and the Xplorlabs education team hosted 22 in-depth professional development workshops with more than 250 educators nationwide — impacting more than 68,000 students. Over the last two years, Xplorlabs has also grown its mission to transform STEM education and professional development through the Xplorlabs Educator Fellowship. The inaugural fellowship began in 2023 with 18 educators across five states and in 2024-25 grew to 30 fellows across eight states. These two cohorts have helped Xplorlabs reach nearly 13,000 students.
Later this year, Xplorlabs will welcome its first permanent physical space — the UL Research Institutes Interactive Classroom at the Cobb County Safety Village in metro Atlanta. As one of 23 safety villages in the United States, this facility teaches children how to react when faced with dangerous situations. Set to open this fall, this classroom will host Xplorlabs workshops for educators and students in the area to learn about the science of safety.
To learn more about these safety science education resources, visit Xplorlabs.org.
About UL Research Institutes
UL Research Institutes is a nonprofit research organization dedicated to advancing public safety through scientific discovery. Since 1894, our research has advanced our mission toward a safer, more secure, and sustainable future. Focused on global risks from fire mitigation and air quality to safe energy storage and digital privacy, we conduct rigorous independent research, analyze safety data, and partner with experts to uncover and act on existing and emerging risks to human safety. Discover more at UL.org.
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