The Toxicologist - Society of Toxicology

supply limited guidance for specific experiments. Since 2007, the Girl Scout
Council Nation’s Chapter (GSCNC) Service Unit 37-7 (Oak Ridge Crossing) has
designed hands-on activities for elementary students in different areas of science,
including toxicology, as part of an annual Science Day. For the past two years, this
event has been co-sponsored by National SOT and NCAC SOT through the
Education Committee. This scientific outreach effort directly addresses the local
(NCAC) and National SOT missions to encourage and support K-12 science education.
Science Day is divided into two half-day sessions divided by age group and
themed activities. Girl Scouts register for their age group and one of two themed
sessions based on Girl Scout patches (e.g., Science Discovery or Science Sleuth).
Each patch is earned after students complete the four to five activities in that session.
Each activity is designed for a 30-minute time period, during which older Girl
Scouts (grades 6 – 11) lead the lesson for 12 – 15 younger Girl Scouts. Since the
first Science Day in 2007, Girl Scouts and SOT have reached out to more than 300
students per year, with numbers increasing every year. The additional funding and
involvement of SOT scientists in the past two years has contributed to this increase,
and to the complexities of the experiments provided. Science Day has served as
pilot for various other hands-on activities in toxicology, with lessons learned from
this activity each year helping to create greater interest in science for elementary
school children, and to streamline similar events throughout the region. DIS-
CLAIMER: This abstract does not represent EPA policy.
1868 SCIENTIFIC OUTREACH—COLLABORATING WITH
LOCAL PARTNERS.
M. K. Stapleton 2 , M. R. Gwinn 1 and J. M. Matheson 3 . 1 U.S. EPA, Washington,
DC, 2 Towson University, Baltimore, MD and 3 Consumer Product Safety
Commission, Bethesda, MD.
Scientific literacy of kindergarten – 12th grade (K-12) students is a nationwide
concern and K-12 schools cannot address this growing problem in a vacuum.
Partnerships among K-12 schools, institutions of higher education and the scientific
community are critical to addressing this problem. In 2009, the Society of
Toxicology (SOT) and Towson University’s Bioscience Education and Outreach
(TU BEOP) program collaborated to provide a meaningful K-12 outreach effort at
the SOT annual meeting in Baltimore, MD. This partnership leveraged both the
informal science education experience already present in the local community
(through TU BEOP) and the scientific expertise of SOT members (both local and
national). This model outreach effort involved high school students, assisted by
SOT volunteers, delivering hands-on, toxicology based activities to primary school
students. The high school students underwent training by TU BEOP staff to provide
them with the necessary scientific content knowledge to deliver the variety of
short, hands-on toxicology-based science activities to local elementary school students.
In addition to teaching younger students about toxicology-based science, the
high school students were provided with an opportunity to conduct their own toxicology-based
science experiment. Further, twelve high school students were invited
to present their individual research in a poster session as part of the Annual meeting.
As a result of this outreach partnership, 28 high school students and 40 SOT
volunteers were able to present toxicology based science activities to over 700 individuals,
including kindergarten and elementary students and their families. We suggest
this outreach model can be used successfully by many professional societies and
associations to increase awareness of, understanding and interest in their scientific
work in the local communities where their annual meetings are held. This abstract
reflects the views of the authors and does not necessarily represent the policies of
their respective institutions.
1869 THE IDAHO SCIENCE & ENGINEERING FESTIVAL:
SATELLITE EVENT FOR K-12 SCIENCE EDUCATION.
J. C. Pfau, C. Evilia and L. DeVeaux. Biological Sciences, Idaho State University,
Pocatello, ID.
The USA Science & Engineering Festival aims to re-ignite young people’s interest
in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) through an exciting, handson
and creative experience. The national event will culminate with a two day Expo
on the National Mall, October 23/24, 2010, celebrating science and engineering in
general but with special programs in clean technology, alternative energy, green
chemistry, bio-mimicry, sustainability, ecology and conservation. The Festival’s participants
include leaders in technology from education, industry and government.
Our goal was to create a local concurrent satellite event showcasing science in
Idaho. First, we asked Idaho State University (ISU) to be a sponsor and host, helping
with graphics, logistics, venue, budgeting, and account management. Second,
potential sponsors across Idaho were contacted with a carefully crafted document
that used the National Festival’s excellent promotional rationale to explain what we
were trying to do. Response was excellent, with sponsors ranging from small “door
prize” donations to thousands of dollars. Third, we asked local scientists and engi-
400 SOT 2011 ANNUAL MEETING
neers to provide booths, each with hands-on activities and fun learning opportunities
for K-12 students. We have 30 of these activities, ranging from sponsor booths
to presentations by faculty and academic clubs at ISU. Fourth, we contacted local
schools, through school district administrators, for permission to distribute fliers
and visit schools during science classes or assemblies to invite them to participate.
To qualify for prizes, students will have a “passport” that must be stamped at several
booths, encouraging them to engage in many activities at the Festival. We hope to
increase community engagement in science and technology and create a greater
awareness of science by staging a robust and inventive festival in Idaho; to attract
enthusiastic participants; to attract a large audience of all ages, and to raise funds to
support the Festival for years to come. Data will be collected to allow us to track the
success of the Festival.
1870 THE VOYAGE OF THE ODYSSEY: A UNIQUE
PLATFORM FOR TOXICOLOGY RESEARCH AND
EDUCATION.
I. Kerr 1, 3 and J. P. Wise 1, 2, 3 . 1 Ocean Alliance, Lincoln, MA, 2 Wise Laboratory of
Environmental and Genetic Toxicology, University of Southern Maine, Portland, ME
and 3 Maine Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health, University of Southern
Maine, Portland, ME.
The research vessel Odyssey is a 93-foot ketch motorsailer. It is equipped with stateof-the-art
acoustic and sampling equipment for tracking and biopsying marine
mammals, particularly whales. She is also equipped with state-of-the-art equipment
for toxicological studies including cell culture and environmental sampling (water,
air and prey). Odyssey sleeps 12 people and can stay offshore for weeks at a time.
Thus, this vessel is a unique research platform for studying the toxicological impacts
of environmental pollutants on whales and other marine mammals. However,
Odyssey also has an important educational mission, engaging a broad spectrum of
students in studying and understanding marine toxicology. For example, on her
most recent voyage investigating the Gulf of Mexico oil crisis, 15 students worked
at sea. Many more were engaged through working on field samples in the land laboratory
or through daily logs sent out from the boat. Some students took online
courses and stayed on board for the entire voyage while others rotated in for a leg of
1-2 weeks. Students were responsible for managing and performing all scientific aspects
of the expedition as well as learning to work and sail the boat and raise funds
for the expedition. One undergraduate, a rising freshman, setup the cell culture laboratory
(the only one of its kind at sea) and became the first person in history to
culture whale cells at sea and the first to culture fin whale cells. One undergraduate
was a primary biopsier and collected more than 50% of the biopsies taken and ran
the air-sampling program. Another undergraduate ran the water and sediment sampling
program. All gained firsthand experience in working at sea, and in understanding
the impacts and importance of toxicology in general and marine toxicology
in particular, making Odyssey’s educational and scientific missions a significant
success.
1871 REINFORCING QUANTITATIVE SKILLS THROUGH
DATA ANALYSIS IN AN UNDERGRADUATE
TOXICOLOGY COURSE.
V. A. Fitsanakis. Biology, King College, Bristol, TN.
In many college science and math courses, students are presented with and analyze
idealized laboratory data. While greatly simplifying analysis, this often results in
confusion and anxiety when students are later presented with real-world results. In
order to reinforce quantitative skills (graphing, data and statistical analyses, and interpretation)
and prepare students for biomedical research, students (n = 16) were
presented with original neurotoxicology data in four successive labs. They were instructed
to appropriately graph the data (bar graph versus line graph ), determine
whether to use standard deviation (SD) or standard error of the mean (SEM), and
assess whether the data could be extrapolated to human populations. Prior to the
labs, students anonymously answered pre-lab questions related to their data analysis
skills. During the three-hour lab, students worked together in small groups discussing,
analyzing and graphing the data. After completing each assignment, students
anonymously answered the same questions presented in the pre-lab
assessment to determine whether the lab had reinforced various mathematical and
analytical skills. For each session, the majority students (60-80%) reported
“Strongly Agree” or “Agree” when asked if they were confident in their ability to
successfully analyze the data. This was in stark contrast to their responses prior to
the lab, where the majority (60-80%) reported that they would “Disagree” or
“Strongly Disagree” with the same statements. Their confidence was also noted in
the change in SD from the first lab (average grade 83.11 + 11.39) to the lab exam
(85.67 + 4.92). Although the average score was statistically the same, the SD was
much small, suggesting that more students were closer to the average that in previ-