A group of young scientists from the Aidan Montessori School in Washington, D.C., recently visited the laboratory of Melissa Perry, ScD, MHS, professor and chair of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health (EOH). Perry and members of her laboratory and the department’s faculty and staff shared their enthusiasm about science and public health with their visitors.
At the EOH labs located in the Science and Engineering Hall (SEH), members of the Perry Lab and other SEH staff helped out to introduce the kids to public health, lab sciences and the scientific method through two fun, hands-on experiments.
In the first experiment, the young scientists learned about how microbes spread from person to person and why handwashing is important. The group was presented with two research questions: "How many people can you pass your germs to?" and "Does handwashing stop the spread of germs?" They then formed a hypothesis for each question and performed an experiment to test their hypotheses.
In the second experiment, the students learned about chemical reactions by making "elephant toothpaste." Using yeast as a catalyst, the kids observed and exothermic reaction of the breaking down of hydrogen peroxide.