Our lab was one of seven participating in the Pre-SHARPER event "Conquering the Researcher's Passport". In this event, we open our labs to students of the 4th year of scientific high school (Liceo Scientifico Galileo Galilei, Perugia) to give them an experience of life in the research lab. Each student was given a "passport" and had to go to the participating laboratories where they had to complete activities to earn their "stamp".

In order to earn the "Lab of Ecology" stamp (a mosquito), students had a tour of the insectary where they have a chance to observe the spaces where we rear mosquitoes and experiment with them. They also had a chance to observe the different phases of the mosquito life cycle, and even got to try their hand at catching pupae from rearing trays. Lastly they then had to understand and answer questions correctly on the anatomical and biological differences between male and female mosquitoes before receiving the stamp on their passport.

We hope the students had as much fun as we did, and gained an insight into the importance of research in society.