Postponed – This event has been postponed due to inclement weather.
Morehead Planetarium and Science Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will present an engaging science experience to freshmen, sophomores and juniors at the School of Inquiry and Life Sciences in Asheville on Friday (Jan. 18). Approximately 100 students will attend “Stem Cells Demystified,” a live presentation that explores the science behind stem cell research. Students will learn what stem cells are, why they’re important and what scientists hope to learn by studying them.
Friday (Jan. 18)
8:30 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.
9:15 a.m. to 10 a.m.
10:20 a.m. to 11:05 a.m.
11:15 a.m. to noon.
School of Inquiry and Life Sciences
419 McDowell St., Asheville
A planetarium educator will lead the presentation. Students will see various graphics, such as an animation of how genes code for proteins, while learning how human DNA works and how it affects the traits we inherit, how stem cells work and why there is so much controversy surrounding them.
Friday’s visit is made possible through support from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) Program at the National Institutes of Health. SEPA is a current principal funder of the Destiny traveling science learning program, the planetarium’s education outreach initiative. It supports the partnership between Destiny and this school and enables Destiny to provide professional development for its teachers, learning experiences for its students onboard Destiny’s traveling science laboratories and in the classroom, and activities to engage and inform the Asheville community.
“Stem Cells Demystified” is supported by a grant from the N.C. Biotechnology Center. It is the newest show from Science 360, the planetarium’s series of presentations on current science. With topics ranging from biotechnology to meteorology, Science 360 shows combine animations, videos and other big-screen graphic images with live interaction between audience members and a show presenter. Major funding for Science 360 is provided by a National Science Foundation grant to support internships in physical science education.
Morehead Planetarium and Science Center Web site: http://www.moreheadplanetarium.org
Destiny Web site: http://www.moreheadplanetarium.org/go/destiny
Morehead Planetarium and Science Center contact: Karen Kornegay, (919) 843-7952 or kck@unc.edu
Destiny contact: Claire Ruocchio, (919) 843-5915 or clr@unc.edu
News Services contact: Susan Houston, (919) 962-8415 or susan_houston@unc.edu