MIHS Biology Classes Hold Open House

Mercer Island, WA, February 13, 2026 - For the past several weeks, Mercer Island High School students in Larry Bencivengo and Zachary McCauley’s AP Biology courses and in Bencivengo’s 10th grade biology classes, have been working on a scientific investigation project. 

Working in small groups, students determined a question to explore, developed a hypothesis, then designed and conducted a controlled experiment. 

At a Biology Open House on Wednesday, February 11, parents and community members were invited to MIHS to hear poster presentations from students describing their investigations and discussing the results.

In AP Biology, most students conducted experiments to understand the behavior of the single-celled organism Paramecium.  Topics ranged from feeding behaviors and reproduction, to how Paramecia respond to environmental stimuli.  One group took a different path, using NetLogo to create a model of how Alzheimer’s develops in the brain.

Bencivengo’s sophomore students were investigating the brain and human behavior.  There was quite a range of topics including memory, optical illusions. peer pressure, emotional perception, "choice blindness" and how caffeine affects attention.

Students are now busily working on writing up their findings as a Lab Report using the same format found in scientific journals.

Photos at the Open House were taken by Jay Greer, a parent of a MIHS student.