Media Advisories UNC's Destiny science bus makes first visit to Reagan High in Pfafftown
| UNC's Destiny science bus makes first visit to Reagan High in Pfafftown |
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| Friday, January 18, 2008 | |
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Note: This event has been postponed. Media representatives are invited to experience hands-on science aboard Discovery, one of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s two traveling science laboratories, when it visits Ronald Reagan High School for the first time next week. Wednesday (Jan. 23) 8:55 a.m. to 10:05 a.m. 10:15 a.m. to 11:29 a.m. Ronald Reagan High School 3750 Transou Road, Pfafftown Students from two of Anne Kennedy’s anatomy and physiology classes will perform a lab exercise called “Weigh to Go!” Students will explore the connections between obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Using hydrophobic interactive chromatography, a key process in biotechnology research, students will purify a genetically engineered designer protein (simulated modified leptin) from transformed bacterial cells. The Destiny traveling science learning program is a science education outreach initiative of Morehead Planetarium and Science Center at UNC-Chapel Hill that serves pre-college teachers and students across North Carolina. Destiny develops and delivers a standards-based, hands-on curriculum 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, 33,000-pound buses, bring the latest science and technology equipment to students who otherwise would not see a high-tech laboratory or what a career in science can offer. The module described above is one of 14 offered as part of Destiny’s curriculum. All of Destiny’s modules are aligned with the N.C. Standard Course of Study. “Weigh to Go!” was developed through support from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) Program at the National Institutes of Health. Kennedy attended a teacher workshop to learn how to incorporate “Weigh to Go!” into her classroom, which also made her eligible to request school visits from the Destiny traveling science laboratories. Destiny’s current principal funders are the state of North Carolina, the Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) Program in the National Center for Research Resources and GlaxoSmithKline. Additional support comes from Bio-Rad Laboratories and Medtronic Inc. The science buses are powerful visual images that heighten public awareness of the importance of and funding necessary for quality science education. Created by Carolina in 2000, Destiny became a program of UNC’s Morehead Planetarium and Science Center in 2006. Destiny Web site: http://www.moreheadplanetarium.org/go/destiny Destiny contact: Claire Ruocchio, (919) 843-5915 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it News Services contact: Susan Houston, (919) 962-8415 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |