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Media representatives are invited to experience hands-on science aboard one of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s two traveling science laboratories when it visits three Union County high schools next week.

Media representatives are invited to experience hands-on science aboard one of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s two traveling science laboratories when it visits three Union County high schools next week.

Tuesday (April 13)
11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.
1:20 p.m. to 2:55 p.m.
Marvin Ridge High School
2325 Crane Road, Waxhaw
Beth Walker’s honors biology students will perform the lab exercise called “Case of the Crown Jewels.” 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.

Wednesday (April 14)
7:55 a.m. to 9:40 a.m.
9:45 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.
Monroe High School
1 High School Drive, Monroe
Yolanda Blakeney’s honors chemistry students will perform the lab exercise called “The Crucial Concentration.” Students will assume the role of laboratory investigators for a court case to determine the amount of protein found in three sports drinks. Using the general concept of the Lowry assay and microanalysis skills, students will learn how to use a spectrophotometer, measure absorbance, collect quantitative data and produce a standard curve to find the protein content in each sample.

Thursday (April 15)
11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
12:57 p.m. to 2:27 p.m.
Union County Early College High School
4209-A Old Charlotte Highway, Monroe
Tonya Adams’ honors biology students will perform the lab exercise called “Biological Bodyguards.” Students will examine the vital role that the body's immune system takes to fight illness and prevent disease. Assuming the role of medical lab technicians, students will use a simulated viral extract and perform an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to screen hypothetical patients for the presence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

The Destiny Traveling Science Learning Program is a science education outreach initiative of Morehead Planetarium and Science Center at UNC-Chapel Hill, serving 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 buses equipped as mobile science laboratories, bring advanced science and technology equipment to students who otherwise might not see high-tech experiments or what a career in science can offer. The mobile science labs are powerful visual images that heighten public awareness of the importance of and funding necessary for quality science education.

To be eligible to request a visit from a Destiny mobile science lab, each participating teacher must attend workshops to learn how to incorporate module activities and experiments into his or her classroom. Destiny offers 15 different science modules, each aligned with the N.C. Standard Course of Study.

The Destiny program was created by UNC-Chapel Hill in 2000. Its principal funders are the State of North Carolina and GlaxoSmithKline, with additional support from Bio-Rad Laboratories and from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. Since 2006, Destiny has been part of Morehead Planetarium and Science Center.

Destiny Web site: www.moreheadplanetarium.org/go/destiny
Destiny media contact: Karen Kornegay, (919) 843-7952, kck@unc.edu

News Services contact: Susan Houston, (919) 962-8415, susan_houston@unc.edu

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