With Valentine’s Day approaching, one science teacher at Battle Ground Middle School found a fun way to teach a biology lesson on cell organelles. Christine Coulson had her seventh graders complete a speed dating exercise to help them better understand cellular processes.

Coulson assigned each student one organelle. The students made up a fun name for the organelle, drew a picture of it, found its function, what type of cells it is found in and came up with a school-appropriate pickup line. For example, Wally Cell Wall greeted everyone with “You should date me because I can protect you from anything.”

Some students stayed seated, while the other group moved from table to table around the circle. The students had two minutes to "date" one another.

“They started with their pick up line that related to their organelles function,” says Coulson. “During their date they talked about themselves. What is your name? What do you do for a living? Where did you grow up or where can you be found?”

Coulson set the stage for the activity by dimming the lights, playing soft music and placing flowers on the table. Students discussed their cellular job and if they had anything in common.

Seventh grader Claire Ford was “Rough ER,” which has ribosomes on it and transports proteins through the cell. “I really enjoyed it because it gave us a fun way to learn about different organelles,” says Claire. “It was an interesting way to be introduced to the subject.”

“I had a lot of fun with my friends that I dated, however it was a little awkward with the boys," adds classmate Trinity Jarvis.

“We may not have had any ‘love connections,’ but it was fun to watch them interact,” says Coulson. “Hopefully they memorized at least one of the organelles.”