VOL. XVI, NO. 2
OCTOBER 18, 1974
Equal Time
By LORRIE SWANSONÂ
Did you ever notice how happy and vibrant looking the fish and plants are in the science rooms? Perhaps you've wondered how you too can play an important role in these living creatures' little world. All you have to do is join the many forces of lab assistants that inhabit the science rooms and aid the science teachers in controling a healthy and clean environment for nature.
Helping Mr. Donald Talbot in A-109 is lab assistant John LaPlant '76. John, whose main interest is horticulture, has been a lab assistant since he was a sophomore. It all started one day when his biology teacher was having trouble with some sick geraniums. John asked his teacher if he could take care of them and suddenly found himself one of the many ablebodied science helpers.
"You don't need any special requirements to be one," says John, "just the interest!" A lab assistant doesn't only mean cleaning out animal cages, washing out test tubes, and straightening out the old greenhouse. As John can tell you, a lot can be learned from hanging around fish and plants. For instance, right in the hallowed rooms of dear, old Maine West experiments in hydrophonics are underway. Hydrophonics means growing plants in a controlled nutrient solution (chemicals diluted with water) instead of culture, commonly known in layman terms, as dirt.
Did you ever notice how happy and vibrant looking the fish and plants are in the science rooms? Perhaps you've wondered how you too can play an important role in these living creatures' little world. All you have to do is join the many forces of lab assistants that inhabit the science rooms and aid the science teachers in controling a healthy and clean environment for nature.
Helping Mr. Donald Talbot in A-109 is lab assistant John LaPlant '76. John, whose main interest is horticulture, has been a lab assistant since he was a sophomore. It all started one day when his biology teacher was having trouble with some sick geraniums. John asked his teacher if he could take care of them and suddenly found himself one of the many ablebodied science helpers.
"You don't need any special requirements to be one," says John, "just the interest!" A lab assistant doesn't only mean cleaning out animal cages, washing out test tubes, and straightening out the old greenhouse. As John can tell you, a lot can be learned from hanging around fish and plants. For instance, right in the hallowed rooms of dear, old Maine West experiments in hydrophonics are underway. Hydrophonics means growing plants in a controlled nutrient solution (chemicals diluted with water) instead of culture, commonly known in layman terms, as dirt.
Also, in the world of plant reproduction, a lot can be learned by propagating, or cutting the branches, stems, and leaves of plants, and studying the stimulation of root growth with different kinds of hormones. These experiments, and many more, are done by lab assistants who can do whatever interests them most in the world of science, without the restrictions of a classroom routine.
The daily schedule that keeps John busy goes something like this: before homeroom, John feeds the fish and sees that the aquariums are kept in top-working condition. After this, John turns on the blue-lights for the plants and opens the ventilators. so the plants have lots of fresh air. Most important, John must check which plants need water and quench their thirst with refreshing H2O. It is very important that the plants get their water in the morning, because it gives them the rest of the day to use it while the sun is warming the air. During commons, John does his plant cuttings and moves the plants around so they get a sufficient airing.
"I learn more for what I want to do working in the greenhouse during my spare time than I do during school," states John. Working as a lab assistant may be worth looking into.
The daily schedule that keeps John busy goes something like this: before homeroom, John feeds the fish and sees that the aquariums are kept in top-working condition. After this, John turns on the blue-lights for the plants and opens the ventilators. so the plants have lots of fresh air. Most important, John must check which plants need water and quench their thirst with refreshing H2O. It is very important that the plants get their water in the morning, because it gives them the rest of the day to use it while the sun is warming the air. During commons, John does his plant cuttings and moves the plants around so they get a sufficient airing.
"I learn more for what I want to do working in the greenhouse during my spare time than I do during school," states John. Working as a lab assistant may be worth looking into.