Afterschool Program:

Tiny Terrors & Mighty Cells: The Infection Investigation - Lila Farrington, Ph.D. Grades 4-5

  • Led by Lila Farrington, Ph.D. UC San Francisco
  • Grades 4-5
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Step into the microscopic world of white blood cells, bacteria, and viruses in this exciting after-school adventure into immunology and infectious disease. The Battlefield Within invites 4th and 5th graders to explore the incredible ways their bodies defend against illness – through hands-on experiments, games, and imaginative simulations. In this 10-week program, students won’t just learn about science, they’ll become scientists – performing lab-style activities that simulate real research and diagnostic techniques used by professionals.

Each week introduces new biological concepts through engaging, age-appropriate experiments and custom-designed science games. Students will get to “see” their immune system in action by culturing cells, using lab kits to model antibody binding, and role-playing as T cells, B cells, and pathogens in our high-energy “Infection Battle” board game. They’ll swab surfaces and grow (safe!) microbes, practice contact tracing like real epidemiologists, and design immune strategies to battle mystery invaders.

By the end of the course, students will understand how vaccines work, why diseases spread, how our bodies remember past infections, and why immune cells are both powerful and precise. Most importantly, they’ll gain confidence in their scientific thinking while having serious fun. With a focus on interaction, curiosity, and discovery, The Battlefield Within offers a thrilling journey into a world they’ve always carried inside them – one that is fierce, fascinating, and very much alive.

Grades 4-5

10 meetings starting January 7th .

Hours: 3-5:30

3-3:45 snack and homework

3:45-5:15 Science learning

5:15-5:30 play and pick up time.

Fee: $750

 

Tiny Terrors & Mighty Cells: The Infection Investigation
Lila Farrington, Ph.D.

Lila Farrington, Ph.D.UC San Francisco

Led byLila Farrington, Ph.D. UC San Francisco

Although Lila’s mother was a scientist, it was her father, who worked in the movie industry, who sparked her love of science. He believed that humans have a responsibility to learn about other species, so when Lila was six, he brought home a microscope he had found in a pawn shop. Together they spent afternoons in the park collecting pond samples to examine. By middle school, Lila had won a science award and proudly declared again and again in her Spanish class that she wanted to become a científica. In graduate school, she joined a lab that studied herpes viruses that infect children. She became fascinated by the way the virus evolves alongside the human immune system, a curiosity that ultimately inspired her to pursue a career in infectious diseases.

Lila is a microbiologist and immunologist who Lila enjoys translating complex scientific ideas into hands-on learning. She has taught both college-level biology courses and interactive science programs in local elementary schools, where she relishes the opportunity to connect with younger learners and spark curiosity. She has authored 16 peer-reviewed scientific publications. She earned her Ph.D. at Oregon Health and Science University. She later completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco.