Experiments in learning
During a recent visit to James W. Hennigan Elementary School in Jamaica Plain for a science fair, Carlos Brambila recalled the lasting impact a similar fair had on him. When he was in grade school in California, a scientist from a local university came to his school to show the students how smoking affects the body. “It was an eye-opener,” Brambila said. “After that experience, I was always asking why things happen and how they work. I realized how science could really be applied in the real world.” Now a senior bioengineering major at San Diego State University (SDSU), Brambila is conducting research in the lab of David Weitz, Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Harvard University, over the summer. He jumped at the chance to participate in science demonstrations at the Hennigan. “I remember how strongly that can impact someone’s life, because it did for me. That’s when I started...