Published January 2021
Written by: Montgomery Halsrud
On Tuesday, January 18, AHS advanced biology students had an “Ebola outbreak” in the classroom. The outbreak was an activity included in the students’ virology unit that they are currently studying.
In the activity, each student picked a test tube containing a clear liquid. All of the test tubes looked identical. However, two of the tubes had a different liquid in them, containing a harmless substance to imitate “Ebola.”
The students each had to find three people to come into contact with. To come into contact, the students had to pour their liquid into the others’ tube and mix it and vice versa. The students recorded who they came into contact with.
After each student came into contact with three people, a drop of a chemical was piped into the tube. If the liquid turned pink, then they had contracted Ebola.
Out of all of the students, only one student’s liquid was clear. The students then had to investigate who were the two students with Ebola in their tube, finding the origin of the Ebola outbreak in the class.
After almost 15 minutes of discussion, the students narrowed it down to a few students. Once they were content with their results, their teacher, Mr. Young, revealed the carriers: Ruby Mitchell and Dylan Berte. One of the carriers, Ruby Mitchell, said, “I kinda had a feeling I was going to spread Ebola because I look like the type of person to spread a blood-borne pathogen… ya know?”
This activity performed by the students is extremely relevant and shows just how fast viruses can spread, such as COVID-19.