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Beginning at 10:10 a.m., approximately 52 fifth-grade students will rotate between hands-on science activities held inside a classroom at Vance Elementary School and onboard one of UNC’s Destiny traveling science laboratories that will illustrate the concepts of cells, DNA and inherited traits. Activities will include extracting DNA from strawberries, using pipettes and creating inheritance bracelets.

“For our fifth-grade students to learn side-by-side with SILSA students creates an apprentice-like relationship that speaks not, ‘let us tell you,’ but ‘let us show you, so you can do it, too.’ Experiencing the unique mobile lab, an engineering marvel in itself, will anchor our fifth-grade students’ capacity to see themselves in the various fields of scientific inquiry,” said Mary Schillereff, specialist and coordinator of the academically and intellectually gifted program at Vance Elementary School. “They will not simply be doing science, they will be behaving as scientists. Such an experience will enlighten their view of themselves and their place in this world, forever and for good.”

The science experience on Oct. 26 is made possible through support from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), Science Education Partnership Award Program (SEPA) at the National Institutes of Health. SEPA is a current principal funder of UNC’s Destiny traveling science learning program, and it has supported the partnership between Destiny and SILSA. SEPA funding enables Destiny to provide professional development for SILSA teachers, learning experiences for SILSA students onboard Destiny’s traveling science laboratories and in the classroom, and activities to engage and inform the Asheville community about SILSA.

“SILSA/Destiny combines student learning, a mobile lab experience and teacher professional development.  This partnership exemplifies the goals of the SEPA program – inquiry-based learning, improved teacher pedagogical skills and community participation,” said Dr. Tony Beck, SEPA Program Officer in the Division of Clinical Research Resources at NCRR.  “The event at Vance Elementary School is also a great example of peer mentoring and hands-on science.”

“Destiny has been an integral part of my instruction as an educator and as a school leader,” said Shannon Baggett, SILSA lead teacher and coordinator. “I truly feel that the activities designed and supported by the Destiny staff are right in line with current science and technology skills needed by students. We at SILSA are thrilled to partner with such a phenomenal program.”

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 Destiny program first hit the road in 2000.

The School of Inquiry and Life Sciences at Asheville (SILSA) opened in fall 2005 and is designed to prepare students for post-secondary opportunities and expose them to careers in the medical sciences, health sciences and life sciences. It is located on the campus of Asheville High School.

Destiny Web site: http://www.moreheadplanetarium.org/go/destiny
SILSA Web site: http://www.asheville.k12.nc.us/sites/silsa
SEPA Web site: http://www.ncrrsepa.org/ 

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
SEPA contact: Shelly Pollard, (301) 435-0888 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