Celebrated annually on Nov. 8, National STEM Day highlights the important role of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in education.
Polton Elementary School in the Cherry Creek School District hosts a STEM Day every year that aims to help students explore STEM fields through activities, presentations, and guest lectures. This year, Jenna Tomkinson, a quantitative cell biologist in the Way Lab at the Department of Biomedical Informatics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, visited the school to discuss her career, introduce students to cell painting, and engage them in a fun, STEM-related activity.
Tomkinson describes her role in the Way Lab as a "chaperone for the data," meaning she analyzes images from cell painting to differentiate between cells based on various characteristics. She designed an interactive coloring exercise to introduce Polton Elementary students to cell painting. The students were asked to color two cells, one healthy and one sick. Next, they used their critical thinking and observational skills to identify each cell. This exercise helped the students understand cell biology and how their own skills are similar to machine learning.
We sat down with Tomkinson to discuss cell painting, her experience at Polton Elementary, and why she thinks STEM is an integral part of the curriculum.