We had an absolute blast this morning working with local 5th graders and sharing what it’s like being a scientist! After hearing the whole school sing their Welcome Song, we were pumped to sing the praises of the daily joy of being scientists. We showed their class some vogue mutations of Drosophila, how starved ladybugs interact with scrumptious aphids, and how specimens are preserved, both by humans (herbarium press) and nature (fossils).

Here is an artistic rendition of the enterprise drawn by a talented 5th grader:

Here Jenn is answering questions after the students watched many aphids die at the hands of ladybugs. Note the variation in facial expression.

Omid discussing the process of fossilization proceeding a lively herbarium press and leaf morphological diversity discussion. It’s difficult to say who learned more, me or the students.

Cara engaging her group discussing the inspirational Ms. Frizzle and physiological consequences of common Drosophila mutations.

All in all, we’re very honored to be invited and engage with such incredibly enthusiastic 5th graders. Furthermore, we recognize how effective a welcome song is on invited guests…