Discover the Microbes Within: The Wolbachia Project
April 23-25, 2010
"Discover the Microbes Within! The Wolbachia Project" is designed for high school biology educators in an effort to modernize biology labs and lesson plans with discovery-based labs, biotechnology, and symbiosis. This integrative lab series is founded on the principle that students want to learn science the way science is done, and in so doing, students enhance their understanding of biology and scientific inquiry while collecting reliable data new to the scientific community. The project's four core goals are to:
1. Engage high school students in nature and real-world research 2. Encourage nationwide participation in the collection and of new scientific data on bacterial endosymbionts (Wolbachia) 3. Enhance student interest in science through an integrative lab series spanning biodiversity to molecular biology 4. Show students what it is like to be a scientist.
Key Features of the Lab Series:
Workshop: A three-day workshop for teacher professional development training (9-12 grades) is offered by the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, MA. It is designed to take advantage of resources offered by the MBL and a team of scientists from MBL and other institutions, who are undertaking research on Wolbachia symbionts.
Loaner Program: A free thermal cycler loaner program is available from the MBL to teachers who implement the lab on polymerase chain reaction. Our objective is to integrate this cutting edge technology to your classroom for no costs.
DNA Sequencing: Teachers can coordinate a free sequencing collaboration with the MBL to determine the DNA sequence of a gene from Wolbachia. Students can then use these sequences in a Bioinformatics lab.
Summer Research 'Envisionships': Six-week long summer research experiences are available for selected high school students and teachers who conducted the Discover the Microbes Within! lab series in their classrooms. These paid summer research experiences would occur in a Wolbachia research lab at the MBL or local institution near the participant's location.
Location of Event: Woods Hole, MA
Cost: Travel only
Sponsoring Organization: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
For more information, contact: Michele Bahr, 508-289-7693 mbahr@mbl.edu,
For more information, contact: Michelle Bahr, 508-289-7693, http://discover.mbl.edu mbahr@mbl.edu