Filling the halls of Hutch High

Aspiring scientists get firsthand lab experience

Photo by Dean Forbes Camas High School students, from right, Alex Pien, Julianne Johnson and Lily Hsu work with Beth Larimore (in blue), graduate research assistant in the Clurman Lab.

More than 250 high schoolers from across the state attended Hutch High on Nov. 5 to see inside working laboratories and learn skills that would be useful in a career of biomedical science. Most attendees were 10th graders who might not otherwise have a firsthand lab opportunity.

With guidance from dozens of Hutchinson Center volunteers, the students isolated and spooled the DNA of strawberries, learned the fine art of micropipetting and heard lectures about sickle cell disease, cancer-causing bacteria and how our immune systems function.

Hutch High is made possible because of the generosity of Seattle philanthropist Althea Stroum and her late husband Samuel Stroum. They began supporting Hutch High in 1999, ensuring that thousands of teenagers would be exposed to the science that may influence their lives for years to come.