Explore Lab Science Program Offers Hands-On Activities for Kids
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 5, 2012
LANSING - The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) Bureau of Laboratories will host two free hands-on events for children in kindergarten through 12th grade.
The purpose of the Explore Lab Science Program is to encourage, empower, and provide exploration tools to K-12 students interested in laboratory science. This is an opportunity for students to gain hands-on experience in science through exciting and safe laboratory experiments.
The first event is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 17 in the Happenings Room of the Harding Mott University Center at the University of Michigan Flint campus. A second event will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 21 in the Atrium of the Biomedical Physical Sciences Building at Michigan State University in East Lansing. Funding has been provided by a grant from the Association of Public Health Laboratories.
"These events are a wonderful opportunity to interest young people in the laboratory sciences and get them eager to learn more," said Frances Pouch Downes, Laboratory Director with the MDCH. "Experiences at these events for children may one day lead to the development of a new vaccine, increase our understanding of prevention strategies, or find results that help provide new forms of treatment."
During the first workshop participants can carry out experiments with the assistance of staff from the MDCH Bureau of Laboratories. Various activities will take place throughout the event, and children can attend at any time to experience a hands-on science project.
Various scheduled activities include:
- St. Patrick's Day Themed Lab Activities - Make Green Snow, Green Worms
- Isolate Your Own DNA from Your Saliva and Take it Home in a Necklace
- Learn How Rare Diseases are Identified in Newborns
Participants are asked to register online at http://ExploreLabScience.questionpro.com. Registration is not mandatory, but will guarantee an activity packet for each child at the events. More information about the events can be found at www.michigan.gov/explorelabscience.
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This project is supported by the Association of Public Health Laboratories under cooperative Agreement Number #1U60HM000803 from Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC.
