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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.

Catawba County
Challenger Early College High School
2550 U.S. Highway 70, Hickory
Tuesday (April 17)
1–2:30 p.m. and 2:35–4 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.

Forsyth County
East Forsyth High School
2500 W. Mountain St., Kernersville
Wednesday (April 18)
8:55–10:25 a.m., 10:30 a.m.–noon and 12:35–2:05 p.m.
Liz Cox’s honors 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.

McDowell County
West McDowell Junior High School
356 School Road, Marion
Thursday (April 19)
10:50–11:55 a.m., 12:35–1:50 p.m. and 1:55–3 p.m.
Susan Higdon’s eighth-grade students will conduct “Code Red.” Students identify the substances comprising blood, analyze the genetic and cellular basis of blood types and test simulated blood samples to determine safe transfusions. “Code Red” is offered by DREAMS (Destiny’s Role in Engaging and Advancing Middle School Science), a DESTINY option especially for middle schools.

Qualla Boundary
Cherokee Middle School
86 Elk Crossing Lane, Cherokee
Tuesday (April 17)
9:30–11 a.m. and noon–1:30 p.m.
Wednesday (April 18)
9:30–11 a.m. and noon–1:30 p.m.
Bette Fitzgerald’s eighth-grade students will conduct “Genes in a Bottle.” Students extract DNA from their own cheek cells using a simple laboratory procedure and watch it precipitate from solution as floating white strands.  The DNA strands are collected and transferred into a vial or necklace. “Genes in a Bottle” is offered through DREAMS (Destiny’s Role in Engaging and Advancing Middle School Science), a DESTINY option especially for middle schools.

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, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
News Services contact: Susan Hudson, (919) 962-8415, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it