Week Two in Raleigh at the Research Center of the Museum of Natural Sciences!
Week of July 6, 2016.
It will sadly be a short week at the museum because of holiday weekend, but don’t you worry. We will make the most of it!
Day 1 (of week 2) in Raleigh
We did talk about our lesson plans today, but I had to take a little time to thank Melissa for sharing her copy of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks with me. I don’t know what rock I have been living under, but I have never read this eye-opening book before. Where have I have I been? If you are by any chance reading this blog, take time to read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks because your mind will be blown (maybe in both a good and bad way).
We made a lot of agar and other media today. I’m getting really good at it! But Grace might be better. 🙂
We did spend quite a bit of time making Agar and broth before lunch, but we made sure to pour agar into our the plates after we got back from lunch (and the agar had been autoclaved).
Can you tell that I love the lab? Making agar and other media may just actually be my calling. 🙂
I am starting to feel comfortable in the lab! I wish I had one of these at home. 🙂
Look at these awesome mazes that Dr. Julia Stevens designed. I can’t wait to design some for my classes!
We had an exciting new day! The most exciting part was making our bacteria mazes. The mazes are printed from 3D printers!!!! We hope to use mazes this year in our classrooms to investigate what types of food bacteria are more likely to “hunt” for.
The mazes have been soaking in 10% bleach to KILL bacteria. Doc is spraying down the maze to rinse of the bleach…so we can grow bacteria. Isn’t it funny how science works!!
TA – DA!!!
Look at the nice clean maze inside of the nice sterile dish!
I am placing agar in the maze to keep the maze in place and to create a surface that allows the bacteria to grow and move upon.
Doc and I are pipetting agar to keep our mazes in place.
I am cutting out food for the bacteria.
This plate held food that we cut out with pipette tips. The food is use as bait for our bacteria lost in the maze! Could this be a story or what!
I did spend time with Michelle and Monica (who are not on the Soil Team) talking to them about lesson plans and ideas for our classrooms. This has been such a great opportunity to pick other teachers’ brains in a very non-abrasive way. I love it!
Day 2 (of week 2) in Raleigh
I have to be honest and say that while this week has been a little frustrating…it is all because we care so much. How can you be upset when all everyone wants is to do their best all the time? What a treat is has been to work with these amazing and passionate people. I will be forever changed…”A whole new world. A wondrous place I never knew.” I feel a little like Jazmin on Aladdin.
Let me introduce Maggie. She is working on the Ant Picnic project. She is good at making me laugh.
Let me introduce Michelle. She is also on the Ant project, and I hope we stay in contact for a very long time. There is so much I can learn from this amazing woman/educator.
Let me introduce Paige. I believe she also works on the Ant project. She is so peppy, and I love seeing her every morning for coffee in the Daily Planet Cafe.
This is the one and only, GRACE! She has been such a treasure to have on our Soil team, and I just love having her around.
So today was a little different. We spent part of the day working on our Maze Runner Bacteria lesson plan (I was excited to name our lesson plan)! We have a good start, but there is a lot we need to put on paper. Next week, we will need to spend quite a bit of time finishing the Maze Runner Bacteria and working on our BLAST That, DNA! lesson plan. We have so much to do and so little time.
On top of our lesson plans, we need to prepare for our MONDAY Daily Planet Talk. WHAT!?!? I am nervous about letting people down more than I am nervous about talking to a bunch of random people at the science museum. We have a lot of great ideas…like mine to write a rap (which probably won’t happen)..but we don’t have much time to get it all done.
We had some fun today making a key for last year’s lesson plan. I love to organize and record on the computer. One of my favorite things.
But what was even more fun was writing with florescent bacteria!!!! I can’t wait for my bacteria to grow and look awesome!
I am trying to use florescent bacteria as my ink!
Look how hard I am working at trying to write on a plate covered in agar using bacteria as my ink. It is trickier than you might imagine.
Grace, working with the fluorescent bacteria!
Day 3 (of Week 2) in Raleigh
I am feeling like our time is flying by way too fast. It has just been loads of fun at the Natural Museum of Sciences with Dr. Julia Stevens and my co-teacher-scientists, Grace and Melissa. We are feeling both excited, sad, and a little stressed because our time here (in Raleigh) is more than half over. 🙁
Everyday when I leave the lab, I go back to my hotel and take a few minutes to think about my day. It’s a whirl wind, but I am so jazzed each day when I leave the lab. This has been such an inspirational experience, and I hope it changes my life (like I believe it will).
I actually have had so much fun, my blog program keeps telling me that I have uploaded too many photos. I might have to start cutting back.
We spent some time lesson planning, and I felt so accomplished after we worked for a while on our Maze Runner Bacteria lesson.
So I spend a little time working on creating a symmetrical maze using the idea of tessellations! I think some of my math friends would be proud of me.
One thing we had to do before we left for the day was write with our florescent bacteria!
Using florescent bacteria, I wrote my name…and it came out well!!! Yay. Go me!
It might not look like it, but it is supposed to say #WeRSoil for our twitter lovers!
This is supposed to say @LiannaGohmann which is my twitter account.
BIG FOR THE WEEK –
Students Discover teachers and scientists made a music video.
Be sure to watch!!!