Setting up the teaching lab….

Posted on December 9, 2008 by | 5 Comments

…with inevitable food coloring for photo-ops:
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5 responses to “Setting up the teaching lab….”

  1. ehoffman's avatar ehoffman | December 9, 2008 at 8:03 pm |

    Don’t get me wrong, you are just cute as anything in the lab coat, but… pictures like this kind of bug me. I don’t like reinforcing that scientists always wear white lab coats and do things like mix colored chemicals in a nice orderly row of glass beakers. I just think it doesn’t help the image of science to be pictured this way, every time it’s pictured. I’m reminded of the Draw-a-Scientist test, where kids draw their perception of a scientist – and almost every time it’s a guy with glasses, wearing a lab coat, who’s not smiling. More often than not, he’s holding a test tube. It’s just not representative of science as a whole, in my opinion.
    (I realize I don’t know the context in which the picture will be used. For all I know, it’s being used to break down the “traditional” scientist representation. And I’m not trying to disparage you in any way. I just wanted to put in my two cents.)

  2. Coturnix's avatar Coturnix | December 9, 2008 at 8:06 pm |

    It is to show the SAKS bureaucrats that we have a lab. I know – this is so funny. Nobody has colorful chemicals any more or uses such vast quantities. It is all microliters in tiny vials of clear fluid. But photographers always ask for this – I know some labs that have food coloring in the lab for just those occasions as they have learned that there is no use arguing with photographers about the way scientists really look like. And we do, sometimes, still wear lab coats, though many are not white any more.

  3. Luci's avatar Luci | December 10, 2008 at 5:47 pm |

    I see a big smile and a smock that reminds me of my favorite art teacher along with the very attractive microscopes. Totally science friendly, although some posters might work. The lab looks like it’s just waiting to get messy with work, a bit like a test kitchen.
    There are so many amazing thinkers and teachers at sb daring kids to explore with curiosity and open minds.
    The food coloring can always be used to tie-dye the lab coats.

  4. John McKay's avatar John McKay | December 10, 2008 at 8:32 pm |

    If you need colored liquid, fill the blender with margaritas (that is what it’s for, isn’t it).

  5. Coturnix's avatar Coturnix | December 10, 2008 at 8:42 pm |

    The lab gets messy with work, and we blend real food in the blender so we can see what’s in it (chemically speaking). We just took these pictures at the time when there were no classes, so it all looks very clean – I make sure that the lab is spotless after every class.
    I need to get some posters – you are right about that!