In 2023, an agreement on education and science was signed between the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IEE RAS) and the K. Minin Nizhny Novgorod State Pedagogical University. Under this agreement, students and faculty from Minin University have been completing their third summer internship working with freshwater aquatic organisms at the Laboratory of Ecology of Aquatic Communities and Invasions and at the N.Yu. Zograf Deep Lake Hydrobiological Station. The students are successfully using the knowledge they gain to organize classes for schoolchildren in the Nizhny Novgorod Region.
This year, after completing a course on preparing biological specimens for examination using light and electron microscopy, Polina Aleksandrovna Potapova organized a workshop at School No. 130 to introduce students to the microscopic crustaceans that inhabit the ponds of Nizhny Novgorod. The children not only had the opportunity to observe the mysterious little bugs "jumping" in the water but also learned how to collect and identify them. Younger schoolchildren (5th and 6th grades) participated in the lesson, but judging by their delighted expressions, the cumbersome Latin names of the various daphnia and cyclops didn't intimidate them. Moreover, many children expressed interest in personally collecting samples for the staff of the Laboratory of Aquatic Community Ecology and Invasions.
A well-deserved tradition of microscopic crustacean workshops is dividing the session into scientific and creative parts. During the scientific part, the children listened attentively to the lecture, learned how to set up microscopes, and actively asked questions. And during the creative part, everyone could make a brooch in the shape of their favorite microscopic character as a souvenir from the workshop. Naturally, the children's favorite was the water flea Daphnia — a favorite research subject of Alexey Alexeyevich Kotov and Pyotr Grigoryevich Garibyan.
A few years ago, it would have been impossible to believe that microscopic crustaceans could be of interest to a young audience. Children interested in biology usually dream of becoming ornithologists or theriologists, or at least entomologists. This is due to the vast amount of readily available popular science materials on birds, mammals, and insects. At the same time, significant discoveries in the field of microscopic invertebrate zoology are often unknown to the general public. Thanks to the collaboration between the Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Minin University, the distance between fundamental discoveries and children's audiences has been significantly reduced. This gives hope for fostering a responsible attitude in our society toward the natural environment of our homeland. And it's quite possible that in a few years, there will be a veritable field of enthusiastic Daphnia enthusiasts applying to A.A. Kotov's graduate program!
In the meantime, Polina Aleksandrovna, under the supervision of A.N. Neretina, will be completing her bachelor's degree thesis on the specifics of engaging schoolchildren in scientific research.