Now that this experience is over, I almost don't know what to do with myself. I'll admit that I originally thought this project would be time-consuming and a little boring, which wasn't something I was looking forward to. I was excited about getting a rat (finally, an excuse to get a pet!!), but that was pretty much it.
But thankfully, this entire project exceeded my expectations entirely. Having an opportunity to train my own living rat was a great way to teach myself the concepts we discussed in class, plus it gave me something to talk about when I give campus tours!! But really- I ended up loving this project. I can't wait to teach Lilly more tricks (I'm thinking maybe an obstacle course?), and I know I'll use these concepts of positive reinforcement and extinction in the real world.
Overall, there aren't many things I'd change about the project. In fact, I probably wouldn't change anything. I really liked doing this blog instead of having to write an entire paper, especially because I could add pictures and videos. I also liked how our training times were staggered to prevent the rats from getting distracted by the other boxes. Although it was sometimes inconvenient for me to train at 3:30PM everyday, or I didn't feel like training at that time, it helped me a lot to just go to Stephens and get it done. I'd definitely recommend keeping the staggered times!!
Above all else, this was a project about caring- caring for an animal, and caring enough to train them to do something extraordinary. I definitely have a new respect for the researchers that work with lab rats on a daily basis. I'll miss all the fun I had with Lilly, but I can't wait to teach her new tricks in the future!
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