On Apr. 17, 2026, MCDB graduate students Zianne Olverson, Electra Coffman, Jessica Anderson, Madeline Burghaze, Remy Pastierik, Alex LaFollette and BSGP graduate student Emily Stephens all volunteered to lead science experiments for students at Hiltonia Middle School. 

The graduate students led the middle school students in discussion and experiments on the science of smells. They gave the students a brief lesson on the five senses before beginning a hands-on activity.  

The graduate students provided the middle school students with cotton balls with a variety of scents and were asked to determine what kind of smell each cotton ball had. The students then formed hypotheses, answered questions and were led through the experiment by the graduate students. The students were deeply engaged during the activity and surprised about which scents they were easily able to detect, as well as which scents they found harder to identify. 

This outreach is part of a long-lasting collaboration between Ohio State University graduate students and the class’s teacher, Brenda Rucker. According to Rucker, who has been a teacher at the school for over twenty-one years, this collaboration began around 2016 with an Ohio State University graduate student. Rucker praised the Ohio State University students for their “passing of the torch” over the years and continuing this long-standing tradition. This was the second activity this year that is a part of this ongoing collaboration. Rucker has multiple displays with photos of these activities over the years outside of her classroom.  

The science activity was originally developed by Emily Stephens. The outreach day was organized by Zianne Olverson, who received the MCDB Student Spotlight Award for Outreach and Engagement at the Graduate School Award Ceremony on Wednesday, Apr. 22, 2026. Zianne is also the MCDB Graduate Student Organization’s Outreach Chair.