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Increasing Awareness on the Health Effects of Microplastics in Middle and High School Classrooms
Summary
Educators developed a presentation and hands-on laboratory experiment on microplastic health effects for middle and high school students, finding that structured lessons significantly improved student understanding of how micro- and nanoplastics interact with the human body. The curriculum addresses a documented gap in public education about plastic pollution biology.
The research is clear: micro and nanoplastics have been found throughout the human body, even in placentas, meconium, and semen. Microplastic exposures in animal and cell culture models have been associated with increased inflammation, activation of cancerous pathways, altered immune function and more. While awareness of the plastic pollution problem has improved, education on the biological interactions of these environmental pollutants, particularly as they pertain to human health, needs to be implemented. To better educate students about this topic, we created a presentation and lab experiment to share with middle and high school classrooms. The presentation begins with a competitive Kahoot pre-test, where we assess baseline knowledge of the audience. Following this, we provide an overview of plastic production, explanation of microplastics, and a summary of current research on the potential health effects of microplastics. Then, the students engage in an interactive lab, where they extract their own cheek cells, submerge those cells in a premade aqueous mixture of microplastics and observe the interactions of the cells and microplastics. The presentation finishes with a competitive Kahoot post-test and a culminating survey. We anticipate that our presentation will engage and excite groups of 7th-12th graders to become more environmentally aware and active and will measure this through a Likert scale survey. By recording the responses in the pre- and post-tests and surveying the students after the presentation, we expect to assess the effectiveness of the learning and overall interest. Ultimately, the goal is to share an easy-to-implement activity with the scientific community that can increase awareness in middle and high school students about the effects of microplastic pollution. Simultaneously, we aim to empower the next generation of scientists and researchers to communicate what they have learned and brainstorm solutions to this urgent environmental and health problem. Rutgers Interdisciplinary Research Teams NSF Grant 2203934 This abstract was presented at the American Physiology Summit 2025 and is only available in HTML format. There is no downloadable file or PDF version. The Physiology editorial board was not involved in the peer review process.