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, when it visits Robeson Early College High School next week.
Wednesday (Jan. 30)
11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Robeson Early College High School
5160 Fayetteville Road, Lumberton
Students from two of Monica Graham’s classes will perform a lab exercise called “From Finches to Fishes.” Students will learn the fundamental principles of evolution and natural selection. Protein gel electrophoresis will be used to acquire molecular data with which students will construct an evolutionary tree for five fish species. Students will examine proteomics as the new frontier of molecular biology and its importance to understanding the structure and function of the human genome and the genomes of other organisms.
The Destiny traveling science learning program is a science education outreach initiative of Morehead Planetarium and Science Center at Carolina that serves pre-college teachers and students across the state. 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 module described above is one of 14 offered as part of Destiny’s curriculum. All of Destiny’s modules are aligned with the N.C. Standard Course of Study.
Graham attended a workshop to learn how to incorporate “From Finches to Fishes” into her classroom, which also made her eligible to request a school visit from one of Destiny’s traveling science laboratories.
Destiny’s current principal funders are the state of North Carolina, the Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) Program in the National Center for Research Resources, and GlaxoSmithKline. Additional support comes from Bio-Rad Laboratories and Medtronic Inc.
The science buses are powerful visual images that heighten public awareness of the importance of and funding necessary for quality science education. Created by Carolina in 2000, Destiny became a program of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Morehead Planetarium and Science Center in 2006.
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