skip to main content

REBECCA VARNEY

  • News
  • Research
  • Outreach
  • About Me
  • Resources
  • News
  • Research
  • Outreach
  • About Me
  • Resources

Outreach:
 Science Outside the Lab

BioBlitz 2018

4/21/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
The annual BioBlitz is an Earth-day related event that lets us share our science with the public. This year's was held at the UA Arboretum. It provided a beautiful setting for plant walks, bug walks, bird walks, and butterfly catching. We also had tables where people could learn how to mount an herbarium specimen, look at bugs under a microscope, and have artwork created by black soldier fly maggots. I think my maggots did a great job! 
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

Science Olympiad 2018

2/24/2018

0 Comments

 
Today was Science Olympiad! I volunteered for the Herpetology event, and learned a bit more about lizards and snakes than I knew before. The competitors ranged from 6th to 12th grade, and performed incredibly well. The exam required them to identify specimens, answer questions, and use binders that they had prepared themselves. 

It's always enjoyable to participate in this event, where scientific knowledge is celebrated among a group of peers and their parents. And some teams came in hilarious t-shirts: my favorites were "Reaching Our Potential" with a picture of an action potential graph, a picture of chemicals labelled "We have all the solutions," and "Fe-Man". 

Picture
0 Comments

Night at the Museum: Ocean Explorers

2/17/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Every year the University of Alabama Natural History Museum puts on "Night at the Museum," a chance for us to share our love of science with the local community. Each year has a theme, and the biology department lucked out with this year's: Ocean Explorers. 


Biology's room had jumping fish, a matching game of sea creatures and depth, an algae themed table with seaweed samples to try, a station where children could write their name with a squid pen in squid ink, and live sea urchins to hold!


​Many thanks to all the student graduate volunteers who helped make our room great!
​

Other departments had face painting, a build-your-own-jellyfish, and even a Darwin Selfie Station! 

​
Over 1000 children made their way through the different rooms, along with enthusiastic parents. I'm pretty sure we met a few future scientists! 
0 Comments

Lab Tours

1/25/2018

0 Comments

 
Kocot lab tours start out with the lab where we extract DNA but end in the microscope room, and our benchtop SEM. Nothing quite like letting an undergraduate drive an SEM around for fun!
SEM image of an Aplachophoran
SEM of a chiton shell plate
0 Comments

UA Homecoming

10/14/2017

0 Comments

 
UA Biology had a great outreach table! The Kocot lab shared some weird sea creatures with the general public (the pycnogonids were a hit!), and talked inverts all morning. 
0 Comments
Forward>>

    University of Alabama and Community

    Tuscaloosa, Alabama

    Archives

    January 2021
    April 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    October 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Contact Us

UA Logo
Equal Opportunity | UA Disclaimer | Site Disclaimer | Privacy | Copyright © 2017
 The University of Alabama | Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 | (205) 348-6010