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Media representatives are invited to experience hands-on science aboard a DESTINY traveling science laboratory during school visits this week. Through DESTINY, local students conduct laboratory experiments led by outreach educators from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Morehead Planetarium and Science Center.

Media representatives are invited to experience hands-on science aboard a DESTINY traveling science laboratory during school visits this week. Through DESTINY, local students conduct laboratory experiments led by outreach educators from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Morehead Planetarium and Science Center.

Camden County
Camden County High School
103 U.S. Highway 158 W, Camden
Tuesday (Oct. 25)
9:45–11:20 a.m.
1:30–3:30 p.m.
Karen Sawyer’s advanced biology and honors biology students will conduct “Brand Name Genes.” Students play the roles of employees in a global biotech company to understand connections between BRCA genes and breast cancer. Students learn about cancerous cells, medical pedigrees, ethics of genetic testing, enzyme technology and the steps of polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In the two-part wet-lab, students prepare a simulated PCR and perform gel electrophoresis of actual PCR products to determine the presence of a simulated BRCA2 mutation among four siblings.

Catawba County
Challenger Early College High School
CVCC 2550 N.C. Highway 70 SE, Hickory
Tuesday (Oct. 25)
11 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
12:35–2:30 p.m.
Molly Barlow’s biology students will conduct “Mystery of the Crooked Cell.” Students 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.

Gates County
Gates County High School
88 U.S. Highway 158 W, Gatesville
Thursday (Oct. 27)
9:50–11:20 a.m.
Noon–1:15 p.m.
Teri Campbell’s biology students will conduct “Get a Clue / Case of the Crown Jewels.”  Students 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.

Guilford County
High Point Christian Academy
800 Phillips Ave., High Point
Wednesday (Oct. 26)
8:10–9:40 a.m.
11:20 a.m.–12:55 p.m.
1:30–3 p.m.
Mary Bryant’s honors and advanced placement chemistry students will conduct “Crucial Concentration.” Students 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 learn how to use a spectrophotometer, measure absorbance, collect quantitative data, and produce a standard curve to find the protein content in each sample.

Perquimans County
Perquimans County High School
305 Edenton Road St., Hertford
Wednesday (Oct. 26)
9:30–10:50 a.m.
11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.
Lynette Baker’s biology and honors biology students will conduct “Get a Clue / Case of the Crown Jewels,” described above.

The DESTINY Traveling Science Learning Program serves pre-college teachers and students across North Carolina. DESTINY (Delivering Edge-cutting Science Technology and Internet across North Carolina for Years to come) develops and delivers standards-based, hands-on science curricula 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 17 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 website: www.moreheadplanetarium.org/go/destiny
DESTINY media contact: Karen Kornegay, (919) 843-7952, kck@unc.edu
News Services contact: Susan Hudson, (919) 962-8415, susan_hudson@unc.edu

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