Students at North Schuylkill High School investigate EKG and Heart Rate.

gathering allows Mobile Educators to exchange ideas, introduce new labs and equipment, and catch a new wave of enthusiasm as we begin a new year. On our way home, Greg Stout and I dropped digital microscopes and light microscopes to Dan Smith at Juniata High School. Dan is a wizard with the digital scopes and he has promised to share some of the images captured by his students. The following Monday was the start of a

Williamsport High School advanced biology students performing a Protein Electrophoresis lab.

Williamsport High School to work with advanced biology classes taught by Bo Meyer looking at the fish proteins and the PAGE vertical gels in the protein electrophoresis lab. I could only be there one day, but Mr. Meyer reported terrific results in all lab groups. This lab is one that is always such an exciting surprise as the groups come back to analyze their destained gels on day 2 and are generally rewarded with beautiful gels. I also spent a day dropping off and picking up equipment across our region.

As you can see, my first 2 weeks were quite busy and it continues like that each week! My schedule is getting very full and I now have only a small number of open days for visits. If you want a visit, please email me at schworer@susqu.edu and I will see if we can work something out! Please remember that equipment loans are another great way to utilize the Science in Motion program. If you plan to borrow equipment, please try to plan ahead. I try to accommodate schedules, but the equipment is used a lot and I am also on the road most days. That means if I know that you have a specific equipment need a week or two in advance, I can try my best to arrange to make drops to you as I travel from place to place. As you can see from the account above, I do get to most areas of our region in the course of the month. Good planning on both your part and my part helps us all to get the most from SIM. I am looking forward to new faces and old friends as together we share the love of science with students throughout the year!

Jaclyn, Chemistry/Physics Mobile Educator Says…

Hello. I am very excited to join the Science In Motion team as the new Chemistry and Physics Mobile Educator. I recently moved to Hershey but have resided in Pennsylvania for two and a half years. After obtaining my degree in Physics, I temporarily moved to San Diego, CA, where I taught one year of high school. I spent this last year teaching Honors Physics, Physics and Chemistry at Cinnaminson High School in New Jersey. I am currently working on obtaining my Master’s degree at Penn State.

So far at SIM, I have had the opportunity to meet Martha Kanaskie at Southern Columbia Area High School, who is using our radioactive samples and shielding materials in her Chemistry classes. I also spent a

Danville High School chemistry teacher, Deb Slattery, works on the Gas Chromatography lab with some of her students.

few days with Deborah Slattery and her students at Danville High School. We worked with the Gas Chromatography and the High Performance Liquid Chromatography labs. While there, I was fortunate enough to meet and pick the brain of Erica Merriett, former SIM Educator. I will be spending the remainder of September at Milton Senior High School doing the GC and HPLC labs with Deborah Smeltzer’s Chemistry classes. In addition, John Tamblin of Mt. Carmel High School will be putting our GC’s to work in his Chemistry classes. I anticipate meeting all of the veteran users of our program as well as the new Science In Motion teachers. My available dates for this school year are quickly being gobbled up by local physics and chemistry teachers so reserve your spot before it’s too late!

Greg Stout, Mobile Educator Says…

In the beginning of September, much of my time was devoted to preparing our 48 laptop computers for use in cooperating high schools throughout the school year. Old files had to be removed from the hard drives, and software needed to be updated and reinstalled to provide the most current versions available.

This past month we launched four water quality studies within our coverage area. They were at Lost Creek (Juniata High School), Bull Run (Lewisburg High School), Shamokin Creek (Shikellamy High School) and the Muncy Creek (Montoursville High School). These studies are a cooperative effort with the Chesapeake Bay Commission (CBC) and the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) to monitor streams that eventually discharge into the Chesapeake Bay.

With the assistance of SRBC veterans Jen Hoffman and Kevin McGonigal, I worked with teachers Mr. Dan Smith, Ms. Elizabeth Sterling, Ms. Sheila Furr and Mr. Steve Tressler to teach their students basic fundamentals of stream water quality evaluation.

Students used depth integrated samplers to collect stream water that was analyzed on-site for dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity and temperature. Additional samples of water were transported to the State Department of Environmental Protection laboratory in Harrisburg to be analyzed using fourteen other water quality tests. Results from these analyses will be posted individually per each cooperating high school on the SIM Web site. To view these results, go to www.susqu.edu/sim, select “Water Quality”, then “Water Quality Data”, followed by the high school of interest.

The last week of September, I had the opportunity to visit Selinsgrove High School and working with Ms. Tracy Hepner and Mr. Bill Bechtel in conducting two water quality labs. In these labs we focused on using Vernier probes and laptop PC’s to measure dissolved oxygen and nitrate levels in water from the Susquehanna River. Students were able to compare results from these studies to analyses they performed the week before using conventional methods.

Biology Experiment of the Month

The Experiment of the Month highlights one of the new Vernier Human Physiology sensors – the Hand Dynamometer. This sensor can be used to measure grip strength, pinch strength, and to perform muscle fatigue studies. In the experiment, Grip Strength Comparison, students first measure and compare grip strength in the right and left hand. Each student collects individual data including maximum force and mean

force for each hand. Class data can then be compiled and correlated with physical characteristics such as height and gender. In the second activity for this lab, students compare pinch strengths of the individual fingers of the dominant hand. The experiment, Grip Strength and Muscle Fatigue, examines the effect of fatigue on muscle action as students perform sustained and repetitive isometric contractions of the hand and arm muscles using the hand dynamometer. Students will generate a graphical representation of the force exerted by the hand while gripping. They also observe the change in hand strength over time using first a continuous grip and then a repetitive grip. These experiments give students a great visual representation of the forces generated as a muscle is fatigued. These activities appeal to the fitness-oriented crowd and may generate a sense of competitiveness among those sports participants! The lab is straightforward and needs only the students, sensors, and computers!

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If you wish to receive this newsletter in electronic format, please send us your e-mail address at sciencemotion@susqu.edu or phone us at 570-372-4779.  

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