My Traveling Lab Training

A bit of background. . . as part of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant here at Tech, we have created 19 traveling science labs that we loan out to area teachers. Most of the equipment and supplies are way beyond the budgets of school districts. This week we have been going through each lab going over the protocols and activities. These are things I have learned or shared so far. . .

1. Today we were working on cross-sectioning plant tissue. Susan asked how we know if it’s a stem. I answered “The xylem and the phloem.” (And I could have spelled it correctly, too). I think I surprised people, again, with my science knowledge.

2. The students went to the greenhouse to get plant samples. Jordan came back with a furry plant that she showed to me. I said “That’s lamb’s ear.” And she was surprised I knew the plant’s name. (My mom just introduced me to this plant this summer. See, mom, I DO pay attention!)

3. Yesterday, we extracted DNA. It was pretty cool to “see” DNA. We pulverized a piece of cow’s thymus gland – totally gross! Then we strained it to get only the freed cells. Then we added detergent, and very cold ethanol. We added detergent to break apart the lipid (fat) bi-layer to expose the nucleus and the DNA. The cell mixture and the ethanol separated and then we were able to “twirl” the DNA around a glass rod. Pretty freaking cool to “see” DNA. (Did I just loose some cool points being so excited about DNA?)

4. New vocab word – totipotent. It’s a descriptor of a cell that can become anything. Stem cells are totipotent. As are some plant cells, that’s how you can start a plant from a leaf or a root. I kept laughing every time Susan said “totipotent."

5. A strawberry isn’t a true berry. True berries have a conglomerate of seeds. True berries include cantaloupe, watermelon, blueberries, tomatoes and cucumbers. Cucumbers aren’t really vegetables, either. Vegetable isn’t a scientific term.

6. Another new vocab word – pepo, pronounced PEEP-o. Any berry with a rind such as a cantaloupe or watermelon.

7. I suggested that we ask George Eads, a Tech grad and the actor who plays Nick Stokes on CSI: Las Vegas, to endorse our traveling labs. He’s not a scientist, but he plays one on TV. I don’t think that’s gonna happen. But I bet we’d pack ‘em in for our summer workshops if we had him come in. I think I want to add him to "my list," too.