On May 11 and 12, 2026, MCDB graduate students hosted an interactive science activity for middle schoolers at Hayes Intermediate School in Grove City, Ohio. 

MCDB students Carmen Rodriguez, Adalyn Brown, Afia Asamoah, Remy Pastierik, Jack Bozik, Uxue Miranda-Beitia, Meghan Novotny and Electra Coffman all helped run the activity, which taught students about the functions of the parts of the cell, throughout the two school days. 

Each class session began with an MCDB student giving a lesson on the various parts of the cell, breaking down how different cell parts function and comparing them to the steps of how an Amazon warehouse ships orders for delivery. After the lesson, students began the hands-on activity.  

Students were split into small groups, where each student was assigned a part of the cell, and the group acted as one combined cell. Each student had a task that was symbolic of their cell’s parts’ role. Students assigned to the nucleus would decode secret sets of instructions for the endoplasmic reticulum, students assigned to the endoplasmic reticulum would synthesize the protein (by folding a pipe cleaner into a specific shape) and then package the protein into vesicles (Ziploc bags) for transport to the Golgi, and so on.  Along the way, students would need to visit the mitochondria where they would attempt to throw toys into bins so that they could receive ATP energy. 

To motivate students to complete their tasks, the activity was designed to be a relay race, with each student trying to do their part as quickly as possible. This competitive factor motivated the students to closely cooperate with their group and led to the students having a lot of fun with the activity as they raced to beat their classmates. 

After the race ended, students were asked to reflect on what they had learned, what worked and what did not, which provided a segue into how cell functions can go wrong in disease, finishing with questions about the science that the graduate students studied. 

The activity and lesson were co-designed by Carmen Rodriguez, Adalyn Brown, Morgan Smith and MCDB Co-Director Tony Brown. The group is currently looking into publishing their activity to help empower teachers to incorporate the activity into their science curriculum so that more students will be able to engage in the activity and learn about how cell organelles cooperate together in cell function.