I keep seeing conflicting stuff. One post says it’s great and you should always try; another says that profs will trash your email right away. So should I bother to try?
I assume it all depends on the professors and possibly the school. If possible I might try to contact the professor either over the phone or in person, so that way you’ll at least know if you’re being immediately ignored. This way you can also gage how they feel about the idea before getting a response. Overall, worst case scenario is by trying you lose the 30 mins-1 hour you spent typing the formal email. Sounds like a worthwhile try to me.
It will vary by school (and professor). I know a few colleges near me that have professors who regularly work with HS students.
One HS has students write a senior thesis so they often spend the summer after 11th grade in a lab to collect data.