For Klopfenstein, the event is not simply about introducing students to glowing zebrafish but about changing how they think about science itself and showing them that science is something to explore, question and experience for themselves.
As a member of the lab run by Sarah Petersen, the Ashby Denoon Associate Professor of Neuroscience, Klopfenstein works with zebrafish, a model organism widely used in neuroscience and developmental biology research. She first joined the lab during her freshman year as an assistant caring for the fish, but her interest quickly expanded beyond the day-to-day work. Drawn to both research and teaching, she became interested in finding ways to make science more accessible to younger students.
For Klopfenstein and Conklin, creating Science Saturday meant thinking beyond the nuts and bolts of specific experiments. They had to step back and consider what would make a middle school student curious enough to ask questions, explore and engage.
"Most middle school science programs are not extensive, and equipment can be limited," Klopfenstein said. "You can hear people talk about science research or watch videos, but it's not the same until you get hands-on experience."
That experience is what shaped Klopfenstein's own path as a scientist. "When I started getting hands-on experience, that's when I got more interested in science," she said.
Through Science Saturday, she hopes to create that same moment of discovery for younger students where science becomes more than facts and formulas.“ The development of these outreach events was supported, in part, by a National Science Foundation award to Kenyon.
Although Science Saturday will only last one day, Klopfenstein hopes its impact will continue well beyond the event. She and Conklin are working with local middle school teachers to develop zebrafish-based lessons that will connect throughout the year with classroom topics — from fish development to environmental science — while introducing students to scientific questions beyond their standard curriculum.
If one student leaves believing science is a little less intimidating or decides to ask one more question than they otherwise would have, Klopfenstein believes the event will have been a success and a validation of one of her core beliefs: "Everyone can do science."
And if one of those students dreams of becoming a scientist someday, her advice is simple.
"Do it. Don't be afraid of doing it wrong, because the best way to learn is by doing it wrong and then figuring it out,” she said. “I've learned and grown the most when I get something wrong and have to adapt my thinking. Science is hard because there are questions we don't have the answers to yet. Just because it's hard doesn't mean it's bad, it just means there are places to grow."
This article was written by Hibat Gillani ’28 as part of the Hoskins Frame Summer Science Writing Scholars program.
