Sophisticated Science Rolls Into Town On The BioBus

By Tanjua Damon

Middle school students from The Fraser-Woods School investigated whether pictures they had of the Mona Lisa were fakes with the help of a visit from the Connecticut BioBus, which enables students to have first-hand science experiences.

 Connecticut’s BioBus was launched on September 5, 2001. Twenty-six biotechnology, educational research, pharmaceutical, and supporting organizations contributed $3.6 million over the next five years to help CURE and Connecticut Innovations bring the bus to schools free of charge.

The students participated in two science experiments while the bus, a 40-foot, custom-designed mobile learning center, was at the school April 8. The morning program entitled “The Art of Forgery” introduced students to the idea of using gel electrophoresis for forensics. The students play out the scenario that a painting has been stolen and four have been recovered. Through paint samples and gel electrophoresis, students matched which recovered painting matched a paint sample from the original.

The students also examined the test for Lyme disease. “A Twist of Lyme” introduced the students to how Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbant Assays (ELISAs) are used as diagnostic tools in today’s laboratories. Based on the production of antibodies in the patients, students diagnosed samples from patients who may have Lyme disease.

While the BioBus travels around to schools, scientists from the 26 sponsors meet up with the portable classroom to help teach students about the methods and tools they use to research issues. Christopher Karpenko, a senior scientist in analytical sciences at Boehringer Ingelheim and a Newtown resident, spent time with The Fraser-Woods students.

“I want to excite students for science and get them interested. I also enjoy volunteering my time in Newtown where I live,” Mr Karpenko said. “It exposes the young students to science that they otherwise wouldn’t have. It’s investigative science, giving them the opportunity to do experiment they wouldn’t normally have done in the classroom.”

It took two years for the BioBus to make it to the Newtown private Montessori school. Science teacher Rob Stowell was just as excited as his students to have the opportunity to see and do first hand what scientists do every day.

“The opportunity for these students to do real science with actual equipment that professional scientists use –– they can see real results,” Mr Stowell said. “They can see the real deal and see how much fun it can be. Students can be intimidated by science. This is all about investigating and discovering.”

BioBus staffers Lisa Thomas and Erin Fiondella took the students through the two experiments explaining what tools were used and why. The students were able to take away a gel from the forgery experiment.

“It’s really cool. You get to play with electricity,” Josh Stowell said. “I never knew you could do that much stuff.”

The students were definitely impressed with being able to use scientific tools and individually research and create data for the science experiments.

“It’s really cool. It’s hands-on,” Nicole Levesque said. “They aren’t telling you to do this and do that. You actually get to do the experiment.”

Other experiments include “Lighting the Magic Lantern,” which demonstrates how genes are cloned in bacteria; “ The Magic Lantern Revealed,” which demonstrates protein purification by column chromatography; “The Case of the Crown Jewels,” which demonstrates how individuals can be identified through DNA fingerprinting; “The Mystery of the Crooked Cell,” which establishes whether an unknown patient has sickle trait, is a carrier for the gene, or is normal for the trait by analyzing the molecular weight of hemoglobin by gel electrophoresis; and “Off to the Races,” which demonstrates separation of common food colors using gel electrophoresis.

For more information on the Connecticut BioBus view www.ctbiobus.org or call 203-777-8747.