In 2000, I came to Philadelphia's Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University (TJU) to start a research laboratory and a zebrafish core facility. Like many places, TJU had a "Take Your Child To Work" day. The department that organized this university-wide effort had the idea of sending the kids to the new, state-of-the-art zebrafish facility on campus. They thought it was the closest available aquarium. Shortly thereafter, I began leading a number of group tours through the facility, giving faculty and students direct, hands-on experience with zebrafish.
High school students, TJU minority groups, and inner city summer science programs all made their way through our cramped, noisy, humid space to see several thousands of our research subjects. The tour would culminate with a view through the microscope at the larval beating heart. I later learned, mostly through letters from the departments sponsoring these tours, that the visit to my ...
