Outreach, Puzzles, Activities, Media, Education, and More
Resources for Scientists
There's An App For That!
How to build your own apps for biological data collection
Our lab has recently started using AppSheet to build our own apps for data collection. Currently, Dr. Lotterhos has been offering more comprehensive workshops and is working on a book. You can find public examples of her apps at: https://www.appsheet.com/portfolio/6377443
The use of AppSheet is growing rapidly:
Lotterhos Lab on You Tube
We just recently set up this channel in 2022. Our first video reflects on imposter syndrome, which happens when one doubts their abilities and feels like a fraud. Stay tuned for more videos related to our research!
Graduate- and Undergraduate-Level Activities
An interactive app for understanding multivariate selection
LInk to Multivariate Selection in R Shiny App
This app uses oyster disease and salinity tolerance as an example for understanding how multiple traits evolve in response to multiple stressors. The app presents several cases for students (e.g. given different selection pressures and genetic architectures, how will disease and salinity tolerance evolve?) as well as two challenges (e.g. given the observed trait evolution, what kind of genetic architectures could have led to this pattern?). Students learn from feedback and get a green light if they find the correct solution.
A list of Shiny Apps for understanding population genetics for the undergraduate level or higher
These apps have been developed by population geneticists around the world for understanding and teaching population genetics. Link to the list
Paper strip activities for understanding F-statistics: flip the way F-stats are taught!
This activity is for undergraduate and graduate students who are learning population and conservation genetics.
F-statistics convey important information about the genetic structure of populations. But what do they mean? This learning module teaches F-statistics in a backwards way than normally taught. Instead of giving students data and having them calculate the F-statistics, we give students the F-statistics and challenge them to build the populations that would have those statistics.
Activities for High Schoolers
Oyster Doctors Workshop
This workshop includes an oyster dissection and introduces students to shellfish, their unique biology, and their challenges to survival in diverse marine environments. All the teaching materials are available at:
https://drk-lo.github.io/lotterhoslabprotocols/outreach_oysterworkshop.html
Press: https://news.northeastern.edu/2024/03/08/marine-science-symposium-2024/
Evolution Workshops for High School Girls
We are grateful for funding from the National Science Foundation for this workshop. The girls learn about evolutionary research at the Marine Science Center, and get hands-on training with pipetting, DNA extraction, and coding.
All our lesson plans are available for teachers at this website, including:
- Environmental epigenetics and transgenerational inheritance
- What is ocean acidification? and effects of ocean acidification on shells
- Sea grass wasting disease
- Oyster microbiomes
- "Learn to Code" in 6 sessions.
Our Evolution Workshop for High School Girls has reached dozens of girls from environmental justice communities since 2018.
Elementary Level Activities
Shell matching game web.pdfDr. Lotterhos's Shell Matching Game for 3-6 year olds
Dr. Lotterhos created a shell matching game for preschoolers based on shells found around Nahant beaches. You can print the cards to play a memory game, or go to the beach to try to find the real shells! This would be a great game to play at any beach in New England. Click on the image on the left to download.
Learning with your child:
Q: Did you know all these animals make their own shells? A: Snails, most crabs, lobsters, oysters, clams, and many more all make their own shells. One animal that doesn't make its own shell is the hermit crab, it's a shell recycler! It recycles the shells that snails make.
(Show them a picture of a skeleton). We have bones inside our body. A shell is like our bones, but it is outside the animals body. Q: Do you know why they might want their shell on the outside? A: For protection! From predators, waves, the sun, etc.
Q: What can we drink for strong bones? A: Milk! Milk has calcium, which makes our bones strong. These animals use calcium from the seawater to make their shells strong too.
"Solve It for Kids" Podcast Episode for Elementary and Middle Schoolers and Lego Selection Challenge
Episode 68: Can you predict which animals will survive environmental change?
In this episode, Dr. Lotterhos talks about ocean acidification, evolutionary adaptation to complex environments, genetic variation, and natural selection.
See if you can complete the Lego Selection Challenge (see the website and listen to the podcast for more information)! This challenge introduces students to concepts on measuring traits on real species and figuring out how different environments select on those traits. It's harder than it sounds!