Ginnie Clark (CRH Comms and Public Engagement Manager) organised a morning of scientific workshops and Q&A sessions at James Gillespie’s High School on 07.02.23. Ginnie, Rocio Martinez Aguilar (Maybin lab), Triin Ounapuu (Gray lab) and Grace Forsyth (Mitchell lab) offered 40 students aged 16-18 the chance to take part in our reproductive health themed scientific workshop, followed by Q&A’s with our researchers. The enthusiastic young scientists learned about the challenges of creating a new life from the successful fertilisation of an egg to the growth and development of an embryo and what is required to ensure the creation of a healthy human. The students participated in microscope activity to discover how cells grow and change and what happens when cell growth goes wrong. They played ‘jigsaw cell match’ to reveal the role of different cells and organs within the body, experimented with fluorescence, studied the difference between healthy and diseased tissue, learned about the reproductive system of different animals by taking part in an interactive quiz, and worked out the different stages of embryo foetal development by examining mouse embryos. Image Each workshop concluded with a Q&A and the students were invited to ask questions about different areas of reproductive health research and future career options. The youngsters were extremely engaged and keen to ask our researchers about study tips for future exams, the ethics of testing on animals, what kind of research they do in the CRH labs, and summaries of their career trajectories. Many were considering future jobs in STEM. We were delighted to visit James Gillespie’s to encourage an interest in science and research and to teach the students more about reproductive health. The Head of Biology expressed an interest in future visits from CRH researchers. This article was published on 2024-09-10
