Skype a Scientist - Lexi and Kindergartners

Skype a Scientist is a great program started by another wonderful scientist that works on the Hawaiian bobtail squid, Sarah McAnulty. The program gives scientists more exposure to the general public and is specifically aimed at targeting students and their teachers in a classroom setting. With this program we want to give students an inside view at the daily life of a real normal scientist and to get them excited about science too!

This was my first Skype a Scientist session skyping with Ms. Leticia Berry's kindergarten classroom in San Antonion, TX! I had a blast with these kids! They came up with great questions a nd seemed really excited to learn more about squid. I was able to show them where we maintain our squid and the lab that I work in. We looked at an adult male squid, some cute baby squid, and even at the bacteria that infect the squid. We also talked a little bit about being a scientist and the importance of safety in a laboratory setting. I hope that I talked a few of them into becoming squid scientists themselves one day! Ms. Berry was wonderful and took some pictures of their set up in the classroom:

 

Picture of what the baby bobtail squid look like

 

An incubator where we grow bacteria

 

 

Culture plate with bacteria

 

 

Maddie doing some science with safety gear on

Maddie and myself have signed up for more skype sessions this year, and if interested you should too!

To learn more about the Skype a Scientist program and how you can get involved as either a scientist or a teacher, visit https://www.skypeascientist.com/