In my first year at university, every afternoon from 2-5 p.m. meant another lab session. Each weekday brought a new topic, a new setup, and the pressure to keep up. Balancing attention, timing, and accuracy was harder than I expected.
I had read the manual and answered the pre-lab questions, but it didn’t prepare me for the experience of standing at the bench, handling real materials, and trying to stay in sync with a partner I’d just met. By the time each session ended, we were all tired, and the thought of preparing for the next day’s experiment felt like another big assignment.
Even for students who prepare diligently, walking into a lab for the first time can feel like starting from scratch. What if they could arrive already knowing the timing of the experiment and the layout of the equipment? For students without prior lab experience, that kind of visual rehearsal helps level the playing field. It’s a form of preparation that matters even more when things go off script, as they often do in science.