“Mobile Lab Brings Science Class To Museum"
(Click on a photo to see larger image)
 | Students modeled the spread of
disease within a population by sharing
simulated “body fluids” using pipettes.
Only one student was originally
“infected” with the disease.
| Crystal Snowden stands at her lab station. Today she is demonstrating to students using a video camera and four LCD screens just exactly what she is doing—spreading disease by sharing simulated “body fluids.” Within minutes, students are sharing their own “body fluids” with each other using pipettes.
As a science education instructor, Snowden has the unique opportunity to teach students about biotechnology as part of Discover Genomics! Science Education Program, sponsored by the J. Craig Venter Institute, a mobile laboratory bringing science education to middle and high school students.
As part of the National Museum of Health and Medicine’s event “Jennifer Jako: Young and Positive, Living with HIV,” Discover Genomics!
 | Crystal Snowden, a science education
instructor on the mobile laboratory,
reviews instructions with participants
before beginning ELISA.
| was on site at the museum for middle and high school students to participate in ELISA, a laboratory activity where students model the spread of disease in a population by the sharing of simulated “body fluids.” After students share their “body fluids,” they assay their shared samples using ELISA (enzymelinked immunosorbent assay). Students who attended Jako’s talk were able to develop an understanding of the spread of infectious diseases like HIV.
Discover Genomics! has had the opportunity to work with more than 900 students since it began visiting area schools in the Washington, D.C., metro area in January 2006. This selfsufficient laboratory on wheels has been developed with the support of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) to provide students and teachers the opportunity to learn current bioscience concepts with cutting-edge laboratory equipment.
 | Discover Genomics! mobile laboratory visits schools
in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia, and
has traveled to Hilton Head Island, S.C., New Orleans
and Pittsburgh.
| A modified motor coach, the genomics laboratory includes working stations equipped with centrifuges, pipettes, electrophoresis supplies, temperature and pH probes and other equipment. In addition, each lab station has network capabilities with computers. The instructors’ station is outfitted with a camera that can transmit to four LCD screens throughout the bus to ease viewing of instructions. The mobile lab also includes its own water supply, electricity and internet capabilities.
All laboratory activities have been designed to help teachers achieve their science standards and the National Science Education Standards. Several activities highlighting current research topics in genomics and bioscience are available including “DNA Profiling,” “In Your Kitchen” where students extract and visualize DNA from different types of tissues, “ELISA,” “Paper Chromatography,” “The Crucial Concentration” where students use the Lowry Assay to determine concentration of protein, “Daphnia and the Effects of Drugs,” and “Mystery of the Crooked Cell.”
During the museum’s September monthly health fair program recognizing National Sickle Cell Awareness Month, Discover Genomics! provided visitors with the chance to participate in “Mystery of the Crooked Cell” where gel electrophoresis is used to distinguish between normal and sickle cell hemoglobin protein.
For more information on Discover Genomics! call (301) 795-7000.
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