Disclaimer: This is one of my favorite things from the entire summer, and words honestly do not compare to the experience. I will try to add lots of pictures so that you can get a better understanding. On Monday I went to tour the Insect Transgenesis Facility in the Entomology Department at NCSU. Earlier in the summer when I was… Read more »
As I mentioned yesterday, I have had many opportunities to work with scientists and researchers, but also with museums, and informal educators throughout this summer. When I was at NCCAT for the first professional development institute, I learned about citizen science for the first time. I feel like I had heard the term in the past, but I had never… Read more »
Last Thursday night I was able to work with the GES center at the Museum of Life & Science in Durham for the after hours event: The Science of Sour. I had never been to the museum before, so I was first impressed with the great hands on activities that this museum has for all ages. Every exhibit hall is… Read more »
How can we engage our next generation of citizens in discussions about emerging scientific technologies? I do not have the answer to this question, but I have some ideas about where we can start. As I have been working at the Genetic Engineering and Society Center at NCSU, Starting the conversation has been the goal. The staff at the GES… Read more »
This morning as I was talking to the program assistant at the GES center, she made the comment that “students need to see that teachers are learning new things too!”. I could not agree more. As I have worked through this internship, I feel like a student in so many areas that I do not know as much as I… Read more »
When I started working with Sophia on the Mosquito project I had misconceptions about the process of creating a transgenic organism. While my misunderstandings where small, I know that it is easy for many people to be confused about the process of changing, modifying and creating with DNA technology. If you google “GMO” then you will get many images of… Read more »
When I think of the Veterinary school, I think about the vet’s offices and dogs. Mainly because my only experience with a vet has been because of our dog, Ally. (It is interesting how our perception is shaped by our own experiences.) Tuesday afternoon, after years of driving past NCSU Veterinary School on my way home from work, I went… Read more »
North Carolina State University has signs around campus that simply show the school’s goal of creating active thinkers and learners. These signs just say: “Think & Do”. Straight to the point. The great thing about this short motto: it is interdisciplinary. No matter what you are studying in the university, you can think, process, create and act. As I have… Read more »
One of the reasons that I love science education is because I get to do science with kids. In my classroom, labs are sometimes messy, loud and can be a little disorganized just because students are working in groups and are exploring their experiments. Since I have not worked in a lab setting in a long time, I forget about… Read more »
After a wonderful week at NCCAT (more to come on that later, I’m still trying to process through the experiance), I am back in the lab this morning. The researchers were still working on the same problem as the week before, and repeating experiments under different situations, with slightly different variables. Just like education, learning new things in science can… Read more »
