A group of middle school students “scrubbed in” to play a life-size game of Operation. When each student stepped up to take the tweezers, a Meharry Medical College student called them “doctor.” In another darkened room, they practiced CPR to the beat of “Staying Alive” under disco lights. Down the hall, students were building robots and practicing cleaning teeth and filling cavities. In another room, Meharry students took the stage to talk about their experiences.

For the 300 sixth, seventh and eighth graders in attendance Wednesday, it was a field trip. For Meharry Medical College and Ascension Saint Thomas, it’s a partnered effort to bolster students’ love for science and medicine, through the first Go Out and Love Science event (#GOALS).