The Newsletter for Science in Motion at Susquehanna University

Volume IV Issue 8 May 2005

 

Director's Column

On Wednesday May 11th, the Science in Motion sites from across Pennsylvania traveled to Harrisburg and held demonstrations at the Capitol Building. Susquehanna University Science in Motion showcased a biology lab, DNA Splat, a chemistry lab, Boyle’s Law, and a physics lab, Pulleys. Representatives Merle Phillips and David Millard stopped by our table to show support for our program. We also had many visits from students at the Capitol. The students really enjoyed looking at human chromosomes under the microscope and learning how pulleys make work easier. We held a press conference to increase awareness of our program in an effort to seek funding for the next fiscal year, as well as, passage of House Bill 1512 and Senate Bill 414 to include Science in Motion in the school code. Passage of these bills would make Science in Motion a line item in the budget. This would not necessarily ensure funding for the program every year, but it would eliminate a possible reason not to fund our program. We had a wonderful time at the Capitol and hopefully made an impact on the legislators.

Dr. Courtney Thomas and Representative David Millard

Thank you for the wonderful response to my request for teachers to participate in the joint water quality project between SU SIM and the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC). Four teachers are currently part of the project and three teachers are on the waiting list. We look forward to the workshop on Monday, June 20th and Tuesday, June 21st for equipment and technique training from the SRBC.

Mobile Educator, Erica Merriett, answering questions from passing students at Capitol Day.

Since Madge and Erica are very busy meeting the needs of area teachers, I need to hire a part-time mobile educator to take care of water quality visits/drops, as well as, pick up extra biology visit/drops. For a description of the position, please see our Web site at www.susqu.edu/sim under Job Opportunities, visit the SU Human Resources web page at www.susqu.edu/human_resources/employment.htm or visit the Higher Ed Jobs Web site at www.higheredjobs.com/details.cfm?jobcode=175132659.

Erica Merriett, Chemistry Mobile Educator Says…

I think the end of April has been the calm before the storm of May hits. I headed up to Montoursville High School to visit with the Chemistry and Physical Science classes of Corey Hunter. The Chemistry classes did the Combined Radiation Lab using the Vernier Radiation Monitors. His Physical Science classes did the Simple Machines Lab including pulleys, levers and inclined planes. The students had run some of these experiments before, but found it interesting to use the Vernier Force Sensor and computers for data collection. The end of April brought me back to Milton High School for two labs in one day. In the morning, Jocelyn Bailey’s Physical Science classes did the Sound Waves and Beats lab. In the afternoon, one of the Chemistry II classes of Deb Smeltzer performed the Equilibrium Constant Lab using the Vernier Colorimeters.

I want to take a moment to thank Deb Smeltzer’s Chemistry II students for their letters of support. As part of a project, the students wrote letters addressed to various legislators and the governor asking for continuing support for Science in Motion and explaining how much they have gained from being able to use the program. We were very happy to be able to send the letters off to the right people. It is great to hear about the benefits of Science in Motion from the students themselves!

I started off the month of May with the first of three crime scene visits for the month. The Chemistry students of Deb Slattery and Tracy Hepner at Danville High School all participated in the Chemistry Crime Scene. They were the first classes to try out the fabric analysis addition, which went very well. It was a very busy week, but the students had a lot of fun and were successful in identifying the culprits!

During a brief break from crime scene this week, I was back with the Physical Science classes of Jocelyn Bailey at Milton High School to do the Comparing UVB-blocking Performance of Sunglasses and Sunscreens Lab. In this activity, students use Vernier UVB sensors and UV lights to determine the percentage of UV rays blocked by various glasses and sunscreens. They are then able to compare SPF values of sunscreens with the percent of UV blockage. It’s an interesting experiment, and very relevant to the students for the upcoming summer vacation!

This week, we also traveled to Harrisburg to participate in Capitol Day. It was nice to bring some experiments to show off. Aside from the visiting legislators, there were also many students there on field trips, and they were very interested in checking out the pulleys from the Simple Machines Lab. It is always great to visit with mobile educators from other SIM sites, as well as, exchange tips and ideas with them. The folks from Juniata SIM made some liquid nitrogen ice cream for passers-by, which is always a treat!

Liquid Nitrogen ice cream demonstration by Juniata College at Capitol Day.

Madge Schworer, Biology Mobile Educator Says…

It is so hard to believe that the school year is drawing to a close. The second half of April and May have been very busy but productive months for the Biology van. Sheila Furr’s Biochemistry classes at Shikellamy High School used polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to examine the muscle proteins from a variety of fish and used the protein fingerprints to assess relatedness of species in the lab Protein Fingerprinting: Something Fishy about Evolution. I visited Tri-Valley Jr./Sr. High to bring the pGLO Bacterial Transformation lab to the 10th grade Biology class and the Effects of Temperature on Cricket Respiration to the 7th grade Life Sciences classes taught by Pam Ulicny. We cooperated and shared the space to accomplish both labs in one visit! Next was a first time visit to East Juniata High School where Laura Toth’s Biology and College Science students investigated the pGLO lab with great results. The following week found me at Milton High School in the biology classes of Jocelyn Bailey and Kathy Bower working first on the Factors Affecting Photosynthesis using the dissolved oxygen probes and aquariums plants followed the next day by Effects of Temperature on Cricket Respiration. Another first time visit for me was to Warrior Run High School and the

East Juniata High School Biology students investigating the pGlo lab.

Biology and AP Biology classes taught by Brad Peace. We worked for two days first performing agarose gel electrophoresis and then determining the size of our DNA fragments run on the gel by use of a molecular weight standard curve. Shikellamy High School was my destination for the entire next week. Jodi Cramer’s General Science classes worked with Water Quality Testing first in the lab to learn to use the various computer probes and then on-site at the Sunbury water treatment facility. This year the field trip had great weather and we accomplished our task efficiently. Sheila Furr used the Investigating Enzyme Activity lab in her protein unit with the Biochemistry students. This lab allows the students to investigate a number of influences on the rate activity of the enzyme catalase derived from potatoes. Yvonne Monahan’s Chemistry students investigated their EKG and the Effect of Exercise on Heart Rate. My schedule only permitted a one-day visit so Yvonne and students worked together on the Heart Rate experiment. Before Capital Day I had one last visit to Sheila Furr’s Biochemistry class to do a first time visit with the ELISA lab simulating an outbreak of SARS and tracking the spread of the antigen through the class by performing an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbant Assay. The students had great fun simulating the spread of the disease through the class and completed the assay “just in time” as the period ended.

Capital Day was a break from the regular routine and provided the opportunity to showcase many of the labs offered by the Science in Motion program across the state to legislators and to visitors to the state capital. I took the Human Chromosome Spread (or “Splat”) lab and had many passers-by looking in the microscope at the human chromosomes. This experiment is featured as the Experiment of the Month. Following Capital Day I visited Mt. Carmel High School and the Anatomy and Physiology class taught by Angela Farronato. These students also did the EKG lab and the Effect of Exercise on Heart Rate lab. I will finish the school year with Crime Scene Investigation. I will be assisting Jocelyn Bailey and Kathy Bower with the DNA Fingerprinting element of the Milton High School Crime Scene and will visit Danville High School to bring the Crime Scene to classes taught by Sonia Crane, Donna Counterman, and Pershing Markle.

I would like to thank all the teachers and students who have helped to make this, my first complete year at Science in Motion, so rewarding. I hope that we will have many more opportunities to work together to bring new experiences in science to eager students!

Biology Experiment of the Month

Preparation of Human Chromosome Spreads

The experiment of the month is our Biology demonstration from Capital Day – the Preparation of Human Chromosome Spreads. In this lab, each student prepares a chromosome spread using cells from a human tumor cell line (HeLA cells). Students "splat" the cells onto microscope slides, stain the preparation, and then begin the hunt for the ideal chromosome spread using our Leica light microscopes. As transformed cells, HeLa cells possess a varying number of chromosomes. Students can try to count the number of chromosomes to see the range of aneuploidy present. They can also try to observe sizes of chromosomes, centromere locations, and banding patterns. This lab is an exciting and fun companion to discussions of chromosome structure and the role of karyotyping in genetic disease diagnosis and analysis.

Students at Shikellamy perform and record results of the Human Chromosome Spread or "splat" lab.

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Courtney Thomas
Director, Science in Motion
570-372-4778
thomasc@susqu.edu