The program is designed to encourage local

high school students to pursue higher

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anakin and Luke Skywalker, Marge and Lisa Simpson… it’s scary, but sometimes we find ourselves acting just like our parents…is it Nature or Nurture?  Is it possible that we inherit our behaviors from our parents in the same way that we inherit the colors of our eyes and hair?  Although people have been asking this question for a long time, new molecular techniques may now allow us to find the genes that control behavior!

 

 

Scientific Method

 

Lecture 2:

Pheromones & Behavior

 

Lecture 3:

 

 

Spring 2007:  Comparative Anatomy and Phylogeny

 

In Spring 2007 we conducted 7 laboratory sessions with students from 7 local area high schools (138 students!).  Volunteers included 13 graduate students and 2 faculty/staff members.

 

 

 

Introductory Lecture

 

 

 

 

In the same way that a dead body can provide forensic detectives with the clues to solve a murder case, the bodies of animals can tell us a lot about their ecology and evolution. In this lab we will study the internal anatomy of the five classes of the vertebrates (fish, amphibian, reptile, bird, and mammal) through hands-on examination of dissected whole specimens as well as prepared skeletons and skins. We will ask students to formulate hypotheses about the ecology of each dissected species based on their observations of the similarities and differences between each specimen.  Students will also learn how to use their morphological observations to construct a phylogenetic hypothesis of the evolutionary history of each vertebrate class.

 

 

The initial program ran for one week in Fall 2006.  We conducted a total of 8 laboratory sessions with students from 10 local area high schools (192 students!).  Volunteers included 18 graduate students and 4 faculty/staff members.