Hands-On Health Science: Mosquitoes, Microscopes and Lots of Curiosity

While most midwesterners spend their summers swatting away the dreaded buzzing of mosquitoes, middle school students in the MMSD CTE Summer Discovery Program: Health Science Exploration were excited to get an up-close look.

A field trip during the free course led students to the UW-Madison Hanson Biomedical Sciences Laboratories, home to an extensive research lab that tracks mosquito disease transmission and prevention. Leaning over the smooth, cool steel tables with pipettes in hand, students fed mosquitoes and peered into microscopes to identify the bug’s life cycles.

The learning wasn’t left in the laboratory: students applied everyday products to their skin including bug spray, lotion, sunscreen and makeup remover to see which ones repelled or attracted the mosquitoes. Their takeaway? Stock up on bug spray, and keep the makeup remover in the cabinet.

“For many, it was the first time seeing how school subjects apply to actual jobs in science and health care,” instructor Katie Ryan said. “We want students to leave this camp feeling inspired by what they’ve learned and excited about what’s possible.” 

Back in the classroom during the four-day camp, the engaging hands-on experiments continued. Mashed up strawberries became a lesson in DNA extraction, a box of Jell-O transformed into a three-dimensional model of the brain and practice with stethoscopes shared lessons on the circulatory system. 

“I liked the DNA and blood typing part the most,” Penny, a rising eighth grader from Hamilton Middle School said. “We learned how different antigens can affect blood transfusions. It was fun, but also made me think more seriously about emergency medicine and pediatrics.”