NBAF employees share their love for science with the next generation
Written by Stephanie Jacques, stephanie.jacques@usda.gov
NBAF Office of Communications, usda.gov/nbaf/media
Manhattan, Kansas — In the last year, NBAF employees have spent personal time with students and families at local schools and community science events.
The nearby Rock Creek Middle School in St. George, KS welcomed NBAF employees for STEAM Night. The event was designed to help students discover opportunities and interests in science, technology, engineering, agriculture and math career fields, with each field contributing a letter to the acronym.
“I fell in love with science because I had an amazing AP Biology teacher,” said Krystle Hensley, biosafety level-4 lab manager at NBAF. “I know the impression we can make on kids this age. Opportunities like this can plant seeds that could lead them to be scientists one day, and that’s special to me.”
More than 200 people mingled around NBAF’s table, with many participating in a figurative game of “Mucus Swap;” trying their hand at the game of “Operation” with multiple gloves on; and pipetting to create a unique watercolor print.
The “Mucus Swap” was symbolic of how easily animals can spread disease by interacting with one another. Kids either held a cup of liquid representing good health or a cup with a reactive solution representing being sick. No one in the game knew who was “sick.” Then they socialized by sharing the contents of the cups with one another until they had several socializations. At the end, the leader added drops of a solution to each cup to see who got “infected.” If it turned pink, it symbolized the person got sick.
The game of “Operation” represented how challenging it can be to perform the fine motor tasks that scientists do with several layers of personal protective equipment — like gloves. At NBAF, this will be particularly important in the highest level of containment where scientists like Hensley will need to wear gloves and a pressurized suit while they perform traditional science tasks.
“It’s important that kids see the diversity throughout science,” Hensley said. “We all come from different backgrounds, have different interests, and work in very different labs. Most people have never even heard of a BSL-4 lab before, so it’s exciting to be able to show them my world and what I love to do, while also educating them on safety like using the gloves and Operation.”
The pipetting art activity gave students the opportunity to try a common science task. Pipetting is the process of moving a tiny, measured amount of liquid from one container to another, or in this case, to a grid to form a picture. Henley showcased her mastery of the skill with an outstanding octopus.
While this was NBAF’s first year at Rock Creek’s STEAM Night, the facility operations and science staff have been passionate about science-related outreach events, participating in the last two years of Science Fest in downtown Manhattan, KS, the Manhattan/Ogden School District’s STEM Summer Camp this summer, and many other community and family activities.
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The National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, or NBAF, is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.