For all you budding photographers/chemists that like to mix your own brews:

Each year, groups of MIT freshmen are introduced to MIT's laboratory environment through a four-week January course called 5.301 Introductory Lab Techniques.

In January 2012, a film crew followed 14 students as they struggled to complete experiments required in the class. The stakes are high—students who pass the class are guaranteed a job in an MIT research lab.

This fall, MIT OpenCourseWare will share videos that follow these students as they face the challenges of learning chemistry the MIT way through a unique series called ChemLab Boot Camp.

The episodes will be released each week starting in September, and announced on the ChemLab Boot Camp e-mail list (http://e2.ma/click/e1nue/que8te/m3yuqb).

Watch the ChemLab Boot Camp trailer (http://e2.ma/click/e1nue/que8te/2vzuqb).

The 2-5 minute episodes, shot in a style that mixes the geek fun of open educational resources with the immediacy of reality TV, brings viewers closer to the experience of being an MIT student than ever before. The videos follow the students as they try to master lab techniques such as growing crystals and synthesizing antibiotics. The videos are part of a broader effort at MIT funded by The Dow Chemical Company to foster interest in science and engineering careers.

If you'd like to receive updates about each episode, please sign up for the ChemLab Boot Camp e-mail list (http://e2.ma/click/e1nue/que8te/io0uqb) or you can like us on Facebook (http://e2.ma/click/e1nue/que8te/yg1uqb) or follow us on Twitter (http://e2.ma/click/e1nue/que8te/e91uqb). We hope you'll enjoy this unique and engaging series.

Thomas