New kid on the block

"I'm a new kid on the block

Though I may not be Johann Sebastian Bach"

- "New Kid (on the Block)" by BNL

Whenever a new person sits down at a microscope in the lab, it takes a few minutes for them to get oriented. They have to learn to adjust the eyepieces to fit the width of their face. They take a minute to find the focus knob, then scroll up and down until the specimen comes into clear view. It's a process. 

Some pteropod larvae (baby snails) in the sample I showed H. 

I have a new high schooler in the lab, H, thanks to a mentoring program at a local high school. The mentorship in my lab is the first time he's been exposed to tiny animals like larvae, but he's very eager to learn. I showed him how to use the microscope, adjust the eyepieces, change focus, and make himself comfortable. I stood back. "What do you see?" I asked.

At this point in the process, the student usually mentions something about copepods. They won't know what they are, but they'll ask me about the white shrimp-y things.

Not H. The first thing he noticed - the first thing out of the entire dish - were the bivalves. I was honestly stunned. The bivalves were tiny! The kid has a heart for larvae, though. He's going to fit in here. 

After we talked about and looked at the bivalves for a bit, I asked H what else he saw in the dish. Again, he ignored the copepods and pointed me to some baby snails. Pteropod larvae were everywhere, and even though they were smaller than almost anything else, H picked them out with ease.

I am passionate about getting younger generations involved in science, and it's so satisfying to work with H. I hope his mentorship at WHOI can be a transformative experience. He's already made a great start!