#AntarcticLog is a series of comics by Karen Romano Young. You can find the originals here. 

This week, in preparation for an October adventure I’ll be covering through comics (more about that later), I paid a return visit to the first science research laboratory in my life — Smith Laboratory at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. It was the second time in my life that I walked into a place of work and felt immediately two things — absolutely thrilled and absolutely at home. (The other was a publishing house — so no wonder I became a science storyteller, combining these two loves.) I even bumped into a scientist I’ve done comics about — Sam Lainey, sitting on a wall with his pug. 

Unlike many people in the sciences, I didn’t have much formal education myself. Much of what I’ve learned, I’ve learned on my feet, by wandering around behind scientists, watching and asking questions. All the more reason that the moment I first walked into the science classroom at my middle school looms large in my mind. 

I wonder if you know anyone who is starting school this week, and is feeling a bit unsure? Maybe there’s a kid of any age who’s walking into a situation likely to induce jitters, whether because so much school has been remote, or because labs are a new idea, or because just, well, science can be daunting?  Let them fill in the blanks in the comic above — or add to the one where others sent in their responses. 

Happy New School Year! Don’t forget to science! 

–Karen Romano Young is a writer, artist, deep-sea diver, and polar explorer. Follow her on Twitter & Instagram.