Fifth-graders from “Patriarch Evtimii” Secondary School in Plovdiv visited CPSBB. The pupils study in an innovative class with a Biology profile and the visit was part of their curriculum as an interest-based learning activity.

Dr. Nikola Staykov (Molecular Biologist) and Eng. Dr. Alicia Wieteska (Agronomist), welcomed the children and guided them through the scientific complex of CPSBB. Dr. Staykov introduced the students to a confocal microscope and explained to them what research activities can be mainly carried out with it. He also let them enter one of the cold rooms for storing of voluminous plant samples, as well as the plant growth rooms where researchers conduct various experiments with dozens of plants.

Dr. Staykov presented the resurrection plant Haberlea rhodopensis and demonstrated how scientists at CPSBB grow and propagate the plant for research by using an in vitro model.  Students were also able to witness a process of soil preparation for experiments.

Eng. Dr. Alicia Wieteska guided the children to the greenhouses where a large-scale research project has currently been conducted with multiple strawberry and raspberry plantings. Dr. Wieteska briefly explained why the plants are grown in different stress conditions and what does the term “randomization” mean regarding scientific experiment.

The students also entered one of the CPSBB’s laboratories, where Dr. Wieteska showed them how seeds from the fruits of hundreds of lines of peppers are counted and why this information is valuable for the research of her team. The peppers had been grown in the greenhouses of CPSBB under various stress conditions. The students helped Dr. Wieteska with the counting and she demonstrated how the data from this process is stored on a computer for further research analysis.