College lab experience. Personal instruction. A head start in pre-health science.
Eight Saturday mornings. Real dissection, real microscopy, real lab notebooks. Capped at eight students, 7th–12th grade. Led by Leslie Nichols, former Boise State Anatomy & Physiology Laboratory Coordinator & Instructor, now focused on helping students prepare for advanced science through private classes and workshops.
No payment required to request a spot. We'll email the next dates and details before any commitment.
Learn with Leslie. Teach with her approach. Explore the ideas.
Biology and anatomy & physiology are Leslie's specialties. She brings more than 30 years of teaching experience across homeschool co-ops, public schools, and university classrooms, including over 20 years of earlier co-op teaching across subjects.
Learn with Leslie →
Small-group cohorts, summer workshops, and private instruction in the Treasure Valley.
Teach with Bright Minds →
Explore course-pack materials for your family or group, then discuss subject fit and readiness with Leslie.
Explore the ideas →
Read Leslie's book about observation, mastery, and the part of science that students need to do for themselves.
Teaching college science? Explore the professional essays and A&P resources.
Next dates emailed to families who request a spot.
Exact venue in confirmation email.
Sibling discount available.
Please ask about need-based scholarships.
Leslie Nichols, a credentialed science teacher with more than 30 years of teaching experience.
- · Former BSU A&P Laboratory Coordinator & Instructor (27+ labs, 1,000+ students per term)
- · Former public-school middle & high school biology teacher (Idaho-certified)
- · 22-year homeschool co-op leader
The Saturday cohort isn’t the only way to work with Leslie. See all 3 packages →
An 8-Saturday Life Sciences Intensive
A comparative-anatomy spine. A pre-health-grade capstone. Small enough that every student does every lab.
~3 hours each, 9 AM–noon. One semester, beginning to end. Skip-friendly with structured make-ups.
7th–12th grade. Every student handles every specimen. No "watch from the back of the room."
Each student finishes with a working pre-health lab notebook and a letter of completion from their instructor.
What this is: a small, mastery-based lab-bench cohort taught by a credentialed Idaho science teacher. We move on when students can do the work, not simply because a week has passed. The deeper goal is to teach students how to reason through the scientific method on their own. Reference materials from OpenStax and Khan Academy are freely available; the instructor, the bench, and the habits of mind are what this cohort is built around.
Real labs, not lab simulations.
Across 8 Saturdays, students work through a comparative-anatomy spine that mirrors a college-freshman pre-health track, with instruction suited to high-school students.
Specimens, microscopes, and models stay on the bench. Lab notebooks travel home each week. The capstone is a real piece of work the student can show on a transcript or an application.
- Microscopy fundamentals: cells, tissues, and what to look for.
- Tissue identification: the four main classes, studied on real slides.
- Comparative dissection (invertebrate): an introductory specimen.
- Comparative dissection (vertebrate): comparing body structures.
- Anatomy & physiology blocks: bones, muscles, and organs, studied with real models.
- Capstone project: a student-led project, with a presentation and portfolio review in the final week.
Real benches. Real specimens. Real lab notebooks.
These AI-generated illustrations show the kinds of activities we plan, not photographs of enrolled students or a confirmed venue. About our images and permissions.
Meet Mr. Bones.
Bright Minds’ unofficial mascot wears a fedora and paisley necktie and has a strong opinion about every joint in the human body. He’s on the bench for every cohort, ready to point at things on cue.
Articulated. Slightly battered. Excellent at posing for photos.
Essays from Leslie.
Short pieces on what we actually do at the bench and why the hands-on version is the one that sticks.
Why hands-on lab science matters more, not less.
K–12 and college science are shifting to video and simulation. The downstream consequences for pre-health students are measurable.
Read essay →
Mastery vs seat-time.
A pension formula from 1906 is currently running the biology classroom. Why our cohort moves on when the work is right, not when the bell rings.
Read essay →Follow the data, not the conclusion.
A real scientist starts without the answer. Why we teach the scientific method as a loop, including the “No” arrow most kids never get to take.
Read essay →Try the summer Lab Bench Workshop before you commit.
Three summer mornings. Real microscopy and dissection. $245, with a $100 credit toward a Saturday cohort.
Eight seats. One cohort.
Request a seat in the next cohort. Requests are non-binding. We will send dates and tuition details before any commitment.
Request a spot →Questions? Read the FAQ or see the pathway.