Positively planktonic partnerships: establishing symbiotic relationships between universities and elementary schools

Photosynthesis is a well-studied component of the fifth grade science curriculum. However, it tends to focus on land-based processes and largely ignores the equally important oceanic components: the phytoplankton. In order to bridge this gap, we introduced fifth grade students participating in the University of Southern California (USC) Young Scientists Program (YSP) to the work of some marine and environmental biology researchers at USC. A classroom of 29 fifth grade students, from Lenicia B. Weemes Elementary in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), toured the research labs on campus, specifically those specializing in research on marine and freshwater phytoplankton. They performed a hands-on plankton net-tow experiment to demonstrate how plankton are collected, and following, they viewed live cells under the microscope. Students were both surprised and fascinated when they learned that these microscopic organisms, the ‘unseen majority’, produce approximately 50% of the oxygen that we breathe. Not only did this programming supplement what students had studied in the classroom about photosynthesis, but it also allowed graduate students the opportunity to translate their research to a broader audience while demonstrating what careers are possible in the marine environmental biology field. This model of facilitating relationships between graduate researchers and educational institutions, such as USC YSP and its programming in local Title 1 schools, provides a template to engaging a broader audience with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM)-related educational topics and research.