It is difficult to pick among the multiple AHA moments that occurred during my time at the museum, so I’ve narrowed it down to two. My first AHA moment occurred day one at the museum. We spent the morning at Prairie Ridge getting to know one another and meeting all the stakeholders involved in the Students Discover project. We were able to express our hopes, dreams and fears as we embarked on this unchartered ground … to bring Citizen Science into the public school setting. We had fun participating in the Dragonfly Swarm Citizen Science project. Then it was time to go to our home for the next three weeks, The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. Dr. Rob Dunn, the principal investigator of the Students Discover project, was scheduled to give a talk in the museum’s Daily Planet. He described the Students Discover project and talked of a “quiet revolution brewing in the museum” among the teachers and scientists. The idea of bringing together public school educators and museum scientists was a ground breaking endeavor. As he talked, I began to get chills and realized what a big deal this was and that I was part of something great. I was so excited to be sitting in the Daily Planet as one of the Students Discover teachers getting the CHARGE from Dr. Rob Dunn. In that moment I realized that this project could really change the face of middle school science. I could not wait to ignite the fire of Citizen Science in my 6th grade classroom!
My next AHA moment came towards the end of my time at the museum. Team Dirt (Arthina Blanchard, Amy Lawson and myself) and Team Mite (Marybeth Evans, Kayla Norvile and Willis Foster) were asked to present to all the scientists in the Genomics Lab. We shared our curriculum ideas and explained ways we planned to bring our experience in the lab back to our students in the classroom. The presentation went well and I felt again like I was part of something great. The scientists shared how they enjoyed our enthusiasm in the lab. They talked of being rejuvenated themselves working alongside us in the role of mentor. After our presentation, the scientists were continuing their meeting to discuss budget and other upcoming projects. As the teachers were getting up to leave, my mentor Dr. Julia Stevens, leaned over and gave me directions to make the next gel in preparation to run our gel electrophoresis in the lab that day. I hesitated and asked “You mean you want us to go ahead and make the gel without you?” She answered, “Yes, you got this, I trust you.” That is when my second AHA moment occurred. I realized that after spending several weeks in the lab learning under the tutelage of my mentor, she viewed us as one of the team. That felt pretty awesome and it was then I recognized my experience at the museum was like a needed shot in the arm. I felt empowered in that moment and knew that my teaching would be positively influenced by the time spent in the Genomics Lab at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.