Media Advisory

UNC's Destiny science learning program
takes the bus to Leland, Shallote and Southport

Media representatives are invited to climb aboard Destiny, one of the traveling science laboratories in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Destiny science learning program, and view DESTINY’s science curriculum in action, when DESTINY visits Brunswick County high schools in Leland, Shallotte and Southport, and Brunswick County Academy in Bolivia this week.

Tuesday (Nov. 14)
8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
9:36 a.m. to 11:06 a.m.
West Brunswick High School
550 Whiteville Road Northwest, Shallotte
Students from two of Lisa Jones' biology classes will perform a lab exercise called "Case of the Crown Jewels." Students will 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.

Wednesday (Nov. 15)
1:20 p.m. to 2:50 p.m.
South Brunswick High School
280 Cougar Drive, Southport
Students from one of Kathryn Smith's biology classes will perform a lab exercise called "From Finches to Fishes." Students will learn fundamental principles of evolution and natural selection, and protein gel electrophoresis will be used to acquire molecular data with which students will construct an evolutionary tree for five fish species.

Wednesday (Nov. 15)
Interior classroom sessions
8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
9:36 a.m. to 11:06 a.m.
11:11 a.m. to 1:14 p.m.
Rooms 503 and 504
South Brunswick High School
280 Cougar Drive, Southport
Students will work through the DESTINY curriculum module “Case of the Crown Jewels” in the science classroom. Science teachers Steve Clark and Melissa McGougan will lead the classes. See earlier module description.

Wednesday (Nov. 15)
Interior classroom sessions
9:36 a.m. to 11:06 a.m.
1:20 p.m. to 2:50 p.m.
Room 513
South Brunswick High School
280 Cougar Drive, Southport
Students will work through the DESTINY curriculum module “The Crucial Concentration” in the science classroom. Students will assume the role of laboratory investigators for a court case to determine the amount of protein found in three sports drinks. Using the general concept of the Lowry Assay measurement method and microanalysis skills, students will learn how to use a spectrophotometer, measure absorbencies, collect quantitative data and produce a standard curve to find the protein content in each sample.

Thursday (Nov. 16)
9:40 a.m. to 11 a.m.
11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.
North Brunswick High School
114 Scorpion Drive, Leland
Students from two of Dawn Norton’s biology classes will perform a lab exercise called “Case of the Crown Jewels.” Students will 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.

Thursday (Nov. 16)
Interior classroom sessions
9:36 a.m. to 11:06 a.m.
11:50 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.
Room 411
North Brunswick High School
114 Scorpion Drive, Leland
Students from two of Jamie Smith’s classes will perform a toxicology lab exercise as part of DESTINY’s new module “The State We’re In.” Students will conduct a bioassay experiment using daphnia, an indicator species, to detect and assess what would be considered a harmful level of a toxic chemical. While discovering the effects of environmental toxins, students will gain an understanding of the interplay between scientific data and human judgment that underlies legislation

Thursday (Nov 16)
Interior classroom sessions
8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.
10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Room 616
Brunswick County Academy
1109 Old Ocean Highway, Bolivia
Students from Denise Davis’ classes will extract DNA from their own cheek cells while performing “Genes in a Bottle.”

The Destiny program's activities for Brunswick County schools are federally funded by the Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) program. SEPA's goals are to engage the public in medical research, stimulate interest in science and encourage the next generation of health professionals.

The Destiny traveling science learning program is Morehead Planetarium and Science Center's formal science education initiative serving 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 modules described above are among 13 offered as part of Destiny's curriculum. "The Crucial Concentration" is adapted from a Boston University School of Medicine CityLab module. “Genes in a Bottle” follows BioRad’s curriculum guide. All of Destiny's modules are aligned with the N.C. Standard Course of Study.

The science buses are powerful visual images that heighten public awareness of the importance of and funding necessary for quality science education. Destiny first hit the road in 2000. Visit http://www.destiny.unc.edu for more information

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Destiny contact: Claire Bury, (919) 843-5915 or bury@unc.edu.
News Services contact: Lisa Katz, (919) 962-2093 or lisa_katz@unc.edu.