��������

Waiting out in the lobby of the Research Building at the ��������–St. Louis was , assistant professor of .

“We’re science researchers,” she teased. “We don’t really come out of our labs and do these sorts of things.”

She meant things like going on camera with  for an in-depth look at her lab’s role in the  program at UMSL.

STARS brings high school students to campus every summer to conduct research in labs with leading scientists and write academic papers to present at the end of the six-week program. Interested particularly in science education, The Nine Network’s Senior Producer Jim Kirchherr wanted to feature STARS on his new show 

“Science explains so many things that we’re surrounded by,” he said. “It’s important that we continue that exploration.”

Dunlap and her STARS student Lucas Shanker spent the better part of their morning acquainting Kirchherr with their study on bees’ social choices and behavior.

With the camera gear and the media crammed into the lab for close-ups of tunnels constructed for the bees, Dunlap’s voice cut over the top of all the buzz –

“We’re examining the bees like they’re shopping in a grocery store,” she said. “It’s . We want to see if they learn faster and make certain choices independently or if they choose things based on social information.”