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Media representatives are invited to experience hands-on science aboard a DESTINY traveling science laboratory during school visits next 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 next 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.

Johnston County
West Johnston High School
5935 Raleigh Road, Benson
Thursday (Dec. 8)
7:15–8:45 a.m.
10:47 a.m.–12:23 p.m.
12:55–2:25 p.m.
Tara Blalock’s physical science students will conduct “The 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.

Vance County
Northern Vance High School
293 Warrenton Road, Henderson
Tuesday (Dec. 6)
8–9:35 a.m.
9:35–11:15 a.m.
11:55 a.m.–1:25 p.m.
Justyn Phelps' 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.

Yadkin County
Starmount High School
2516 Longtown Road, Boonville
Thursday (Dec. 8)
8:05–9:35 a.m.
9:50–11:20 a.m.
Rebecca Bryant'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.

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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