UC Denver symposium includes middle school students

DENVER - Seventh grader Mali Garrett-Mills is one of the few instead of the many. But scientists hope to draw more of her peers into their ranks.

"Like the people I hang out with, pretty much no interest in science at all," Garrett-Mills, a student at Smiley Middle School in Denver, said.

The University of Colorado Denver held its 12th Annual Research and Creative Activities Symposium on Friday. The purpose is to celebrate the research projects put together by graduate students. This year is the first time the programs on the Anschutz campus in Aurora and the downtown Denver campus showcased together including works in arts, science, and medicine.

It is also the first time middle school students were invited to attend. Garrett-Mills displayed her science project examining how different liquids affect tooth decay.

"I never thought I'd be here today," Garrett-Mills said. "It's a complete shock and amazement to me."

Organizers say that's the point. They want to amaze middle school students by having them interact with the graduate students.

"The idea is to celebrate [middle school] students' work," said Dr. Richard Traystman, vice chancellor for research for UC Denver. "We like to keep those students in science."

Traystman hopes students are encouraged to continue their pursuit of science. National research has shown that middle school is the level where students tend to lose their interest in science.

"It was a really great inspiration for me," Garrett-Mills said. "Because I'm able to see that if I can do this now as a seventh grader, within two weeks time, what can I do by the time I'm ready for graduate school?"

Todd Johnson is a UC Denver graduate student studying electrical engineering. He devised a new way to detect mercury by using light. He says having middle school students involved in this symposium is a valuable experience.

"When I was that age, it seemed like a long road to get to this point," Johnson said. "These are difficult concepts, but they are doable. Looking at some stuff, people might say, 'Oh, I want to do that sometime.'"

Traystman says efforts like this are important for the entire nation.

"We need to have as much influence as we can on the young people of the United States to pursue fields in science," Traystman said. "Our [graduate] students here act in a certain sense as mentors, advisors."

Garrett-Mills says it has helped her, but she worries that other students will not follow suit.

"If we don't have an interest now, then we never will," Garrett-Mills said.