Workshops at Sunnyside Elementary

As a team, we visited Sunnyside Elementary to introduce Stentor coeruleus as a model organism to two 4th and 5th grade classrooms. We turned their classrooms into microscope stations and encouraged them to ask questions about Stentor, forming their own experiments in groups.

Following their experiments, the groups made a poster showing the data they collected and presented it to their classmates. The students gained exposure to a model organism, using a microscope, presenting their findings and learning what science looks like and is about.

2023 Summer Citizen Scientist Project

Stentor are capable of regeneration, meaning that when a single Stentor is cut in half, each half regrows. When we conducted workshops at Sunnyside Elementary School, a few students asked an intriguing question: is there a limit to the number of times Stentor can regenerate?

We gave the students take-home lab kits to explore this question as a summer research project. One of the students gave a talk to present her findings at the Center for Cellular Construction annual retreat!