High Schoolers Teach Neuroscience to 4th and 5th Graders: Meet Our New Chilean Interns!

— Written by Akiira Osorio and Jesús Gil —

Akiira

Hello! My name is Akiira and recently, I’ve been involved in an educational project in Santiago, Chile, related to neuroscience and biology. We focus on teaching young children about how muscles, the heart, the brain, and even plants work. Through simple and fun experiments, children can observe, feel, and hear the different reactions and changes that occur in these systems and organisms. These experiments not only make learning interactive but also foster curiosity and a deep understanding of the human body and the plant world by seeing their similarities.

As for me, I’m 16 years old and I’m in my second year of high school. I have a great passion for both volleyball (I play the “armador” position) and the arts in their different expressions. In my free time, I really enjoy listening to music, especially K-pop (Itzy, Lesserafim o Blackpink are my favorites), while drawing or spending time playing video games. I consider myself a very energetic and extroverted person, always looking for new activities and challenges that allow me to learn and grow every day.

Jesús

Hello, my name is Jesús Gil, and I study at the Alberto Blest Gana High School. I participate and assist in the neuroscience workshop for grammar school students with professor Angelica Romero and neuroscientist Tim Marzullo, in which we do research on the heart, brain, and plants. For example, the experiments we have done on the heart is knowing what the heart does when the human body is exposed to different temperatures and physical exercises.

Regarding the plants, we burned a leaf of the plant and saw its electrical response and behaviors through the computer. What I learned in this workshop is working as a team and, above all, a lot about science. I thank professor Angelica and the neuroscientist Tim Marzullo for everything they have taught me and for letting me be part of this community.

I am a 14-year-old teenager, Venezuelan, living in Santiago de Chile for more than 7 years. I live with my parents and my sister. I really like science, and I am a person very dedicated to my studies. I really like to exercise, and my favorite sports are basketball and mountain biking. I am an assistant in the neuroscience workshop at my Alberto Blest Gana school along with my classmate Akira, happy to belong to it.