How do you win over a roomful of seventh-graders? Show them the gooey secrets of strawberries, the hidden universe inside their own cheeks, and the super-soaker power of a baby diaper!
That’s exactly what post-doctoral researcher Dr. Ziyu Wang (Angelina) from REdesign Lab did during her NC Science Festival visit to Weddington Middle School, hosted by the ever-spirited Mrs. Alyson VanAlphen. Three mini-labs, 120 curious students, and more “whoa!” moments than we could count made for a science day nobody will soon forget .
Student Reactions
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“The DNA looked like tiny ghost noodles—best lab ever!”
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“I can’t believe I just got my own cheek cells and saw them under the microscope!”
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“Hydrogels are basically super sponges. My mom’s garden needs these!”
Mrs. VanAlphen followed up with a heartfelt note:
“I wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you did with the students! … I hope you have an amazing summer!”
REdesign Lab is passionate about making engineering and biotech tangible before students hit high school. When kids hold strawberry DNA between their fingers or zoom in on the nucleus of their own cells, ‘science’ morphs from a noun into a verb—something they can do.
Huge thanks to Mrs. VanAlphen, the NC Science Festival team, and every Weddington Wildcat who wasn’t afraid to get a little messy in the name of discovery! We are especially grateful to the NC Science Festival for continually bringing scientists and classrooms together across North Carolina .
See you next year—and until then, keep shaking, staining, and soaking up science !