Media representatives are invited to experience hands-on science aboard Destiny, one of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s two traveling science laboratories, next week when it visits Murphy High School, Smoky Mountain High School and Swain County High School.
Tuesday (Oct. 9)
8:13 a.m. to 9:43 a.m.
12 p.m. to 1:25 p.m.
Murphy High School
234 High School Drive, Murphy
Students from two of Lynn Deweese’s honors biology classes will perform a lab exercise called “Get a Clue.” Students will assume the role of forensic scientists and perform DNA restriction analysis (popularly known as DNA fingerprinting) to analyze drops of “blood” and other kinds of evidence found at crime scenes as they determine which suspects are guilty or innocent.
Wednesday (Oct. 10)
11:48 a.m. to 1:22 p.m.
1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Smoky Mountain High School
100 Smoky Mountain Drive, Sylva
Students from one of Kim Corzine’s anatomy and physiology classes and one of her honors biology classes will perform “Case of the Crown Jewels” (an earlier version of “Get a Clue”). Students will assume the role of forensic scientists and perform DNA restriction analysis (popularly known as DNA fingerprinting) to analyze drops of "blood" and other kinds of evidence found at crime scenes as they determine which suspects are guilty or innocent.
Thursday (Oct. 11)
8:05 a.m. to 9:35 a.m.
11:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
Swain County High School
1415 Fontana Road, Bryson City
Students from two of Norma Pattillo’s biology classes will perform “Mystery of the Crooked Cell.” Students will discover the molecular basis of sickle cell disease by using gel electrophoresis as a diagnostic tool to differentiate normal hemoglobin from hemoglobin found in individuals with sickle cell disease.
The Destiny traveling science learning program is a science education outreach initiative of Morehead Planetarium and Science Center at UNC-Chapel Hill that serves pre-college teachers and students across North Carolina. Destiny develops and delivers a standards-based, hands-on curriculum and teacher professional development with a team of educators and a fleet of vehicles that travel throughout the state.
Destiny and Discovery, two custom-built, 40-foot, 33,000-pound buses, bring the latest science and technology equipment to students who otherwise would not see a high-tech laboratory or what a career in science can offer. The modules described above are among 14 offered as part of Destiny’s curriculum. “Case of the Crown Jewels” and “Mystery of the Crooked Cell” are developed from Boston University School of Medicine CityLab modules. All of Destiny’s modules are aligned with the N.C. Standard Course of Study.
The science buses are powerful visual images that heighten public awareness of the importance of and funding necessary for quality science education. The Destiny program first hit the road in 2000.
Destiny Web site: http://www.moreheadplanetarium.org/go/destiny
Destiny contact: Claire Ruocchio, (919) 843-5915 or clr@unc.edu
News Services contact: Susan Houston, (919) 962-8415 or susan_houston@unc.edu