Eleventh Grade Science Class Visit at Waltham High School

Introduction Members of our lab visited a local high school for one day and worked with five classes of eleventh graders. Methods Two weeks before our scheduled visit, I dropped off vials of flies so that the students could watch the progression of their life cycle from egg laying adults to larvae, pupae, and F1 adults. Six of us visited the high school: a lab manager, two grad students, two postdocs, and a PI. We got there 45 minutes before classes started to setup the 5 experimental stations. Each class lasted ~55 minutes, and we divided this time into two phases. For the first part, we were talking to the students for about 20 minutes and for the second part, the students had ~7 minutes at each of the 5 experimental stations. In our presentation portion we began with a brief overview of what we study and why we study it. I gave a quick primer in why we use flies to study human bodies and diseases. Then each of the lab members introduced themselves and their personal science journey (where she was from, how she got interested in science, etc.) to show that there are all kinds of ways to get to a job in science regardless of background, culture, sex, economic status, etc. Our five experimental stations were : 1) Scientist dissection demo - Using a dissecting scope attached to a camera and laptop, the students could watch the dissection on the laptop as Cassie performed the dissection using one of the oculars on the scope. 2) Temperature sensitive seizure phenotypes as demonstrated by seizing flies in glass vials in a 39 degree water bath - Students observed the differences between WT and ts sensitive flies and Avi talked with them about different ways to think about the nervous system and how to ask questions about this system using scientific experiments. 3) Fly behavior observation - Students observed a couple flies in petri dishes sealed with parafilm, and watched videos showing flies grooming, courtship, aggression. Anjali and Amy discussed the similarities and differences in fly vs. human behavior with the students. 4) Fly and larval anatomy and phenotypes - Using a dissection scope and anesthetized flies, Erica explained the differences between males and female flies, and other eye and wing phenotypes. The Nightsea device allowed for LED fluorescent visualization of the GFP marker in the eyes of some flies and in thefts of some larvae. Students took turns looking through the oculars and using the paint brush to manipulate the flies. 5) Slideshow of One Complete Experiment - I spoke with the students about what a single experiment looked like from conception/hypothesis through crafting of a novel experimental method and imaging to data analysis and discussion of the next hypothesis/questions. We talked about mistakes I made, and I externalized my thought process for them, and showed them some really neat experimental images. Results As a group we worked with four classes of students (roughly 100 students total). During the entire day (lecture and hands-on parts) I thought the students did a great job of paying attention. I did not see anyone being disruptive or distracting. Some kids were grossed out, some kids were bored, most we reasonably interested and there was a handful of students that had lots of questions and good ideas. :) After our lab had lunch, I returned to speak with a class of four students. Only one was really interested and so he and I had a really great chat about neurons in giraffes, what limits the size of insects, the autonomic functions of the brain stem, etc. and then he watched me do a larval dissection. It was a really nice hour of one on one conversation with someone who was genuinely curious about all kind of "biology stuff".

一、项目背景
本实验室成员到访当地一所高中，开展为期一日的科普教学活动，与五个十一年级班级的高中生开展互动教学。

二、实验方法
在原定到访日期的两周前，我们预先放置了装有果蝇的培养管，以便学生们观察果蝇从产卵成虫、幼虫、蛹到F1代成虫的完整生命周期进程。
本次到访的实验室成员共六人：一名实验室管理员、两名研究生、两名博士后研究员以及一名首席研究员（Principal Investigator，PI）。我们提前45分钟抵达学校，完成5个实验站点的搭建工作。
每节课时长约55分钟，我们将其划分为两个阶段：第一部分为科普讲解环节，时长约20分钟；第二部分为动手实验环节，学生需在5个实验站点依次完成操作，每个站点停留约7分钟。
科普讲解环节初始，我们首先简要介绍了本实验室的研究方向与研究意义。我随后简要讲解了为何选择果蝇作为研究人体与疾病的模式生物。随后，每位实验室成员依次分享了自身的求学与科研经历，包括个人出身、对科研的兴趣起源等，旨在向学生传递：无论出身背景、文化差异、性别或经济状况如何，都有诸多路径可以投身科研事业。
本次设置的5个实验站点如下：
1. 科学家解剖演示：由卡西（Cassie）通过解剖镜（dissecting scope）的目镜完成果蝇解剖操作，学生们可通过连接至笔记本电脑的摄像头，同步观察解剖过程。
2. 温度敏感性痉挛表型实验：将装有果蝇的玻璃管置于39℃水浴中，观察果蝇的痉挛（seizure）表型差异。学生们可对比野生型（Wild Type，WT）与温度敏感型（temperature-sensitive，ts）果蝇的表现，艾维（Avi）则向学生们讲解了神经系统研究的不同思路，以及如何通过科学实验针对该系统提出研究问题。
3. 果蝇行为观察实验：学生们观察封装在封口膜（parafilm）密封的培养皿中的果蝇，并观看展示果蝇理毛、求偶与攻击行为的视频。安贾莉（Anjali）与埃米（Amy）带领学生们对比分析果蝇与人类行为的异同。
4. 果蝇及幼虫解剖结构与表型实验：借助解剖镜与麻醉后的果蝇，埃丽卡（Erica）讲解了雌雄果蝇的形态差异，以及眼部、翅部的其他表型特征。Nightsea设备可实现部分果蝇眼部以及部分幼虫组织中绿色荧光蛋白（Green Fluorescent Protein，GFP）标记的LED荧光可视化。学生们轮流通过解剖镜目镜进行观察，并使用画笔轻触果蝇以进行操作。
5. 完整实验流程幻灯片讲解：我向学生们介绍了一项完整实验的全流程，从研究构想/假说提出、新型实验方法开发、成像采集，到数据分析以及后续假说与研究问题的讨论。我们还分享了我在实验中犯下的失误，公开了自身的思考过程，并向学生们展示了部分优质的实验成像结果。

三、实验结果
本次活动我们共对接了四个班级的学生，总人数约100名。整场活动（包括科普讲解与动手实验环节）中，学生们的专注度表现优异，未出现任何扰乱课堂或分散注意力的行为。部分学生对实验操作感到些许不适，部分学生略显乏味，但大多数学生表现出了合理的兴趣，另有少数学生提出了大量优质问题与独到见解。
实验室成员用完午餐后，我返回学校与一个仅有四名学生的班级进行交流。其中仅有一名学生表现出了浓厚的兴趣，我与他就长颈鹿神经元、昆虫体型限制机制、脑干自主神经功能等话题展开了深入交流，随后他还观看了我进行的幼虫解剖操作。与这位对各类生物学知识充满好奇的学生进行的一小时一对一交流，令我倍感愉悦。