Outreach: Kids' Tech

We are really excited to have had the opportunity to participate in the Kids' Tech University event last month!

I gave a talk to 120 kids and told them all about how smart mosquitoes can be!

Abstract: You probably know that blood-sucking mosquitoes can transmit several diseases to animals and humans. These insects are considered the deadliest animal on earth! Unfortunately, vaccines and treatments are not always available to treat some of these diseases and it is thus important to better understand how mosquitoes find their next host to develop new tools for controlling their populations and thus limit disease transmission.

But… Did you know that mosquitoes can pollinate certain flowers? Did you know that mosquitoes can learn and remember things? Did you know that some species preferentially bite cold blooded animals such as frogs and snakes?

In this talk, I will show you how smart mosquitoes can be and what we do in my lab to help better understand their biology, physiology and ecology.

In the afternoon, the kids were able to observe mosquitoes, use our thermographic camera

A big shout out to all students in the lab for taking the time to talk to the students and show them how cool mosquitoes are! A big shoutout to Joanna for coordinating everything!