The Cell: students explore research and art through experimentation
A group of 14-year-olds from the International English School in Solna were the first class to try out the new educational programme at The Cell – a collaboration between the National Museum of Science and Technology and Karolinska Institutet that gathers research, art and Life Science into one multidimensional experience.
Thirty year-8 students, accompanied by their teacher and principal, were welcomed by educationalist Lisa Wilén at The Cell for a visit to Me, You & We – Exploring Human Behaviour, an exhibition in which photographs, sculptures and video art explore different aspect of the human individual. Lisa Wilén presented the works, which prompted many questions and discussions among the students.
New ingresses into Life Science
The visit continued into The Cell’s lab, where the class watched a film of KI researcher Henrik Ehrsson talking about his research in cognitive neuroscience and how the brain perceives the rest of the body. He introduced the rubber hand experiment, in which the brain can be tricked into thinking that an artificial hand is real. When the students tested the experiments themselves, with teacher Calvin Keyser-Allen brushing both the hidden and the rubber hand to create the illusion, much hilarity ensued – along with a good deal of curiosity, which is exactly what The Cell is intended to inspire.
“Life Science is developing at an incredible pace, and even though it affects us as people and society as a whole, it is rarely on the school schedule,” says Samira Bouabana, executive director at The Cell. “In presenting emotive art and fascinating labs and encouraging personal interaction between researchers and students, we open up entirely new ingresses into Life Science.”
The students then got to code a circle (a ball) that could change colour and shape, controlling the ball’s movements via electrodes attached to the arm by clenching and opening their fists – every little movement producing a direct response on the screen. The exercise demanded concentration and left the students intrigued by how the body could control digital events.
A peek into student life at KI
After their visit to The Cell, the group was taken by student ambassadors Ymir Hallgrimssonand Olivia Gander, to Aula Medica, where they shared their own memories of school and their reasons for choosing to study at KI. Their engaged and candid presentation gave the youngsters a peek into what it is like to study at university and the career opportunities it brings.
“It’s so wonderful to see the curiosity that’s aroused when school students visit KI!” says Johanna Gasslander, head of unit at KI’s Education Support Office. “The whole point of these visits is to give schoolchildren something more than simply information about our programmes. We want them to experience the environment, meet our students and ask questions about what it’s like to study here.”