One-day science school for high school students

August 19, 2009 – The RIKEN CDB held a summer school for Kansai area high school students on August 4th and 6th. Now in its third year, this year’s program was organized with cooperation from the Laboratory for Morphogenetic Signaling. Both days featured a talk in the morning by Shigeo Hayashi (Group Director, Laboratory for Morphogenetic Signaling), followed by a visit to his lab, and hands-on lab work in the afternoon using Drosophila (fruit fly) larvae.

Shigeo Hayashi speaking on the fundamentals and recent discoveries in developmental biology	Drosophila breeding room: rows of test tubes containing hundreds of fruit flies.

In the afternoon course, the students had the opportunity to gain firsthand experience in dissecting fruit fly larvae and staining different anatomical structures. Working under a stereomicroscope, some students struggled with the intricate handwork involved in dissection at first, but by the end of the afternoon, the teaching efforts led by researcher Reiko Tajiri and other members of the Laboratory for Morphogenetic Signaling paid off, as most of the students were able to dissect larvae on their own.

Concentrating hard	Student participants and members of the Hayashi Lab

This summer school initiative is held to encourage students to take an active interest in life sciences, and many of the participants commented that they would use this opportunity when considering their future options for university and beyond.