Live From Surgery

Liberty Science Center's Live From Surgery program offers students a unique opportunity to peer into an operating room and interact with medical experts. This powerful learning experience exposes students to careers in biotechnology and medical science. Live From Surgery sessions can be experienced at Liberty Science Center or transmitted into classrooms virtually. See the video conference technical requirements.

During each Live From Surgery session, students will view a procedure, communicate with the doctors, and make close observations of surgical instruments. During Meet the Surgeon sessions, a heart transplant surgeon or pediatric orthopedic surgeon will join live and present students with recorded footage from one of their procedures and discuss their career paths.

Our Live From Surgery Plus programs take the experience to the next level by enhancing your surgical session with a 45-60-minute laboratory workshop that brings medical science to life. Choose to add a session on real-life lab skills, healthcare career exploration, or another focus.

Live From Surgery, Meet the Surgeon, and Live From Surgery Plus sessions must be booked in advance. Please note that space in individual programs is open to multiple schools/organizations. These programs have the potential to sell out, so secure your spot now! Please also note that live surgeries may be transitioned to a taped surgery due to a cancellation or postponement of the scheduled surgery. Participants will be notified in advance when possible.

Email us at partnerships@lsc.org for more details or fill out our info form to make a reservation. An LSC team member will respond to you soon!

Live From Surgery programming is supported by
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Live From Surgery programming is done in partnership with

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Note: When hospitals are busy, surgeries scheduled for Live From Surgery connections with operating rooms in our partner institutions may be rescheduled with little notice. Please note if the hospital reschedules a procedure, LSC will be ready to present a taped surgery.

Upcoming Dates

Live From Surgery: Robotic Surgery

2.5 hours

The Hackensack University Medical Center collaborates with Liberty Science Center to show students of all ages the innovative use of technology in robotic surgery. Students can see a live robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery performed by Dr. Michael Stifelman and his team. Robotic surgery uses a surgical robot to allow surgeons to offer more patients the benefits of laparoscopic surgery, such as performing complex surgeries with fewer incisions.

LSC'S Live From Surgery enables students to ask our surgical team questions while they view the team performing an operation via video teleconferencing technology.

See the list below for dates:

Live From Robotic Surgery:
Dates Coming Soon!


Live From Surgery: Kidney Transplant

2.5 hours

In partnership with the Renal Transplant Division at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center under the RWJBarnabas Health system, Liberty Science Center offers live viewing of adult or pediatric kidney transplants. Students can watch surgeons perform live kidney transplants while surgeons provide educational information about treatment options, understanding transplantation, how to find a donor, and maintaining a healthy organ after transplant.

LSC's Live From Surgery enables students to ask our surgical team questions while they view the team performing an operation via video teleconferencing technology.

See the list below for dates:


Live From Kidney Transplant:

Dates Coming Soon!



Live From Cardiac Surgery

2.5 hours

Gagnon Cardiovascular Institute at Morristown Medical Center (Atlantic Health) collaborates with Liberty Science Center to produce Live From Cardiac Surgery, an educational program that allows middle and high school students to watch open-heart bypass surgery as it happens in real-time. Students in the classroom can ask the surgical team questions while they view the team performing an operation.

Live From Cardiac Classroom:
Dates Coming Soon!



Live From Neurosurgery

3 hours

Learn about delicate neurosurgery performed to extract tumors from the brain or spinal column or repairing spinal column damage from the surgical team at Overlook Medical Center (Atlantic Health) in Summit, NJ. Hear about surgical procedure, risk factors, and careers in medicine.

Live From Neurosurgery:
Dates Coming Soon!


Meet the Surgeon: Heart Transplant

2.5 hours

Learn about heart transplant surgery from a real surgeon! Join Margarita T. Camacho, MD, as she discusses one of her prerecorded heart transplant surgeries. Learn about risk factors for heart disease, mechanical hearts and assistive devices, and new cardiac transplant technologies and procedures. Gain a better understanding of the organ donation process and analyze data from past research on mechanical devices.

See the list below for dates:

Dates Coming Soon!



Meet the Surgeon: Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery

2.5 hours

Learn about pediatric orthopedic surgery from a real surgeon! Interact with pediatric orthopedist, Dr. Samara Friedman, MD, as she describes her experiences in the surgical room. Hear about adolescent bone, joint, and muscle conditions and particular surgeries they performed.

Dr. Friedman is also affiliated with Morristown Medical Center (Atlantic Health), Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, Overlook Medical Center (Atlantic Health), and Short Hills Surgery Center.

See the list below for dates:
Dates Coming Soon!



Surgical Insights Video Series

1 hour

These sessions feature our most popular procedures on videotape. Learn about Cardiac Surgery, Robotic Surgery, or Neurosurgery when you view a previously recorded procedure conducted at one of our partner hospitals. Our Live From Surgery educators will enhance the experience with relevant background and details, and will answer questions for your group.


Surgical Insights Video Series schedule:

Dates Coming Soon!


Live From Surgery Plus: Bacteria Detective

Enhance your session with this optional add-on!

Students will step into the role of medical microbiologists to investigate a hospital-acquired infection outbreak. They'll learn the gram staining technique to identify an unknown bacterial sample, classify different types of bacteria, and understand their significance. Using microscopes, students will examine their stained slides to determine the type of bacteria present.

Bacteria Detective can be added to any Live From Surgery session.


Live From Surgery Plus: Beat the Next Pandemic

Enhance your session with this optional add-on!

In this immersive lab, students will act as healthcare providers to diagnose patients with flu-like symptoms using gel electrophoresis. Acting as lab technicians and medical professionals, they will discern whether their patients are suffering from seasonal fly or a new, dangerous virus. Students will work in teams as they load samples, run elecrtrophoresis, and analyze results to determine their patients' diagnoses.

Beat the Next Pandemic may be added to any Live From Surgery session.


NEW Live From Surgery Plus: Using Biotechnology to Stop Outbreaks

Enhance your session with this optional add-on!

Available at LSC. Take on the role of public health scientists investigating a potential outbreak traced through wastewater. Using gel electrophoresis, analyze DNA samples to identify bacterial pathogens and determine the source of contamination. This simulation uses real-world data and biotechnology tools to explore how wastewater surveillance can detect emerging diseases and protect community health.

Using Biotechnology to Stop Outbreaks may be added to any Live From Surgery session.


NEW Live From Surgery Plus: Exploring Diabetes and Semaglutide Science with ELISA

Enhance your session with this optional add-on!

In this lab simulation, students will explore how semaglutide, a cutting-edge medication, helps regulate blood sugar and reduce appetite in individuals with type 2 diabetes. Through a hands-on ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) simulation, students will investigate simulated patient samples to determine how effectively the treatment is working. Along the way, they’ll learn about hormone signaling, diagnostic testing, and the science behind one of the most talked- about advances in metabolic health.


Exploring Diabetes and Semaglutide Science with ELISA may be added to any Live From Surgery session.


Grades 6-8

Surgical Insights Video Series

Time: 10:30 - 11:15 AM

Dates:

October 15 (Cardiac Surgery)

November 19 (Robotic Surgery)

December 3 (Neurosurgery)

January 14 (Cardiac Surgery)

February 11 (Cardiac Surgery)

March 11 (Robotic Surgery)

April 15 (Neurosurgery)

May 13 (Cardiac Surgery)

June 17 (Cardiac Surgery)

Taped Live From Surgery: Robotic Surgery

View a taped session of robotic surgery which uses a surgical robot to allow surgeons to offer more patients the benefits of laparoscopic surgery, such as performing complex surgeries with fewer incisions.

Taped Live From Surgery: Cardiac Surgery

This taped educational program allows students to view bypass surgery and explore coronary artery disease.

Taped Live From Surgery: Neurosurgery

View a taped surgery to learn about delicate neurosurgery performed to extract tumors from the brain.


Alignment to NJSLS - Science

    • MS-LS1-5 Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.
    • MS-LS1-3 Use argument supported by evidence for how the body is a system of interacting subsystems composed of groups of cells.
  • Connections to NJSLS - English Language Arts

    • RST.6-8.2 - Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; provide an accurate summary of the text distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
  • Connections to NJSLS - Mathematics

    • 6.SP.B.4 - Display numerical data in plots on a number line, including dot plots, histograms, and box plots.