Armpits, belly buttons, hands, and even behind the ears.
One by one, an instructor holds up Petri dishes revealing results of bacteria swabs taken from a variety of body parts belonging to students at the Genome B.C. Geneskool Summer Camp held at Capilano University this week.
For five days, participants from grades 8 to 12 learn about genetics and more through hands-on activities and instruction.
On this day, the students take their bacteria cultures and examine them closer under microscopes, learning the differences between certain types of bacteria, and the differences between the cells of bacteria and human cells.
“It’s been really fun,” says Isabel Iglesias of the camp.
The 16-year-old has an interest in biology and decided to attend the camp because she wanted to learn more about genetics.
Noah Melhado also has an interest in sciences, especially physics and biology. That may not be too surprising since his dad is a microbiologist. This is the first time Noah has attended the Geneskool camp, and says he wants to learn more about genetics so he can learn more about diseases, such as cancer, and how they run in some families.
With only a few weeks left before school starts, Isabel and Noah both say attending this type of summer camp helps them ease back into a school frame of mind.
Although he has had a good summer, Noah says he is looking forward to starting back at Sentinel secondary, where he attends the school’s fencing academy and will be going into Grade10.
He says he enjoys learning new things, and has signed up for some “cool” courses this year. He’s also looking forward to seeing his school friends again.
He says the best part of school is learning new and unexpected things. When asked what helps students stay motivated and focused throughout the school year, he notes that “having a good peer group” helps because friends can help each other study and keep each other on track.
Isabel also had a good summer but isn’t as keen as Noah to return to school. She will be heading into Grade 12 at Sentinel secondary, but says she is ready to move on and explore what’s outside the confines of her high school. When she graduates, she is planning to take a year off from school to do volunteer work in India.
This is the first time she has attended the Geneskool camp, and biology is one of her two favourite subjects, along with English. She has a part-time job and sings in a choir, and admits that she does get a little anxious as a new school year approaches. Grade 11 was “the hardest so far,” she says, and hopes the upcoming year will be less stressful.
Organization and time management are two key skills for success at school, she notes, and when asked what she thinks she will remember most about her final year in high school, she answers quickly: “friends.”
For more information about the Genome B.C. Geneskool visit genomebc.ca.
