On July 4, 1776, the United States declared its independence from Great Britain.  Ever since, people all around the country have celebrated Independence Day with parades, picnics, and fireworks. Members of the Undergraduate Biology Research Program (UBRP) joined this year's celebration by participating in a parade in Summerhaven, on nearby Mt. Lemmon.  More than 30 groups marched.

Participants dressed in interesting costumes for the parade!  Some groups marched as cheer leaders, others as shooting stars, still others were prisoners (we're not sure what inspired these costumes), and even Santa Claus attended!

As future scientists, we dressed up in outfits depicting things scientific.  Our group included an agarose gel, a couple of rats, an amaloyd plaque, two chlamdomonas, a maize, an Arabidopsis, a medicinal plant, a Manduca sexta, several people in lab coats, and our very own "Model Organism" (that would be me!).  Every costume was creative and illustrated a role in modern scientific research.

As we marched, we were cheered by bystanders and cameras flashed continuously as the crowd attempted to catch memorable moments. There were smiles and cheers the whole time, as everyone enjoyed the holiday! Every scene reflected the fulfillment brought by democracy granted at the birth of this nation.

This was my first time to march in a parade and I had a good time being a participant. I was fortunate to get a chance to celebrate the holiday with such a big group of wonderful people. I am looking forward to our nation's next birthday!

Jenny Zhu, URBPer with Dr. W. Daniel Stammer, Glaucoma Research Laboratory