The Contemporary Science Center will again offer its series of biology labs for the 2010-2011 academic year. This course offers a year-long series of hands-on, in-depth labs that augment and enhance the student's home study of high school biology. The labs are taught by our Education Director, Dr. Alice Lee, and are some of the best labs available in biology, from the classic frog dissection to examining chlorophyll, and then to bacterial transformation. The Museum's naturalists and sites are used at times throughout the year to expand on the units. Under Dr. Lee's guidance the students learn not only the details of biology, but how to be independent and successful in a life science lab.
This year-long course, which meets every other Tuesday morning at 10 AM, is perfect for youths ready to take on high school biology. We have had great success with very advanced middle-school-aged students, and with older teens studying AP Biology. We expect families to choose their own biology textbook, although we do think that Campbell's Biology:Concepts and Connections is a very strong choice.
We expect to have about 20 students in the course, and have at least 10 spaces available as of mid-April. Dr. Lee's overview of the course is attached above as a PDF.
The cost for the course is $600, which covers instruction and all lab materials. To register we require a $50 deposit, and the balance of the fee will be due July 1st, by check or credit card.
To register for the course, please download the attached registration forms (Word file above) and mail them with your $50 deposit to our address: CSC, PO Box 13453, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709.
The labs and dates below, from 09-10, will give you a close idea of what will be offered in the coming year. Dr. Lee expects to modify this list only slightly, based on her final review of what was effective this year. Dates will begin generally after Labor Day.
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Lab
#
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Dates
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General
Category
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Lab
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1
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9/07/10
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Introduction
to Biology
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Lab
Safety, Scientific inquiry,
Basic
microscopy
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2
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9/21/10
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Cells:
Prokaryotes,
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Culturing
bacteria, simple and gram staining, cell wall structures
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3
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10/5/10
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Cells:
Eukaryotes
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Plant
and Animal cellular structures and function
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4
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10/19/10
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Cellular
organization
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Limitations
on cell size
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5
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11/02/10
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Cellular
transport
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Rates
of osmosis and diffusion
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6
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11/16/10
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Cellular
enzymatic reactions
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Enzyme
Activity (catalase, protease, amylase, invertase)
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7
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11/30/10
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Cellular
metabolism
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Cellular
respiration
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8
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12/07/10
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Plant
physiology
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Photosynthesis
in elodea or cabomba plants
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9
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12/14/10
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Cell
replication
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Mitosis
or meiosis lab
|
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10
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01/04/11
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Anatomy
structure and function
|
Animal dissection Internal anatomy
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|
11
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01/18/11
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Anatomy
structure and function
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Insect
dissection External anatomy
|
|
12
|
02/01/11
|
Plant
Anatomy and physiology
|
Flower
and seed dissection, chlorophyll chemistry
|
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13
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02/15/11
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Animal
Behavior
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Pillbug
response to environmental parameters
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14
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03/01/11
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Genetics
|
Bacterial
DNA extraction
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15
|
03/15/11
|
Molecular
biology
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Restriction enzyme analysis
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16
|
03/29/11
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Molecular
biology
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Bacterial
DNA transformation and genetics
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17
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04/12/11
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Heredity
|
Human
DNA analysis: DNA extraction and PCR
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|
18
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04/26/11
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Heredity
|
Human
DNA analysis: Gel electrophoresis
|
|
19
|
05/03/11
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Nanobiotechnology
|
Synthesis
of silver nanoparticles and antimicrobial effects
|
|
20
|
05/10/11
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Open
|
Teacher’s
choice
|
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