Lab Crawl 2008 – Workshop 2
Day 1: Florida Department of Law Enforcement
Starting at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, participants were taken on a behind-the-scenes tour of four major sections of crime investigation. Biology, ballistics, fingerprinting, and chemistry were the four sections toured, each consisting of a tour and a demonstration. In the biology section, participants were shown how body fluids are found and tested by the department. Ballistics demonstrated how a confiscated firearm is fired in order to retrieve an undamaged bullet for comparison to a suspect bullet. Fingerprinting showed the different ways latent prints can be found and preserved, as well as compared to a variety of computerized databases. The chemistry section demonstrated how different drug tests are accomplished, both on unknown physical samples and those drugs found in body fluids. Drawing parallels to popular television shows and films in each section, FDLE personnel clearly explained what is routinely done on cases, what is possible to do, and what is shown only in Hollywood.
This material was modified for classroom use by taking participants through a series of lessons designed to help students understand 3 main concepts:
- Crime investigation is very much rooted in scientific methodology, as investigators examine the same evidence from a variety of angles
- Careful experimental design, attention to detail, and defensible methodology are as important in their investigations as they are in a scientific study
- Much of what is shown in popular culture regarding criminology is for entertainment only (and sometimes the reality is more interesting)
Day 1 Resources
Day 2: Doyle Conner Agriculture and Consumer Sciences
Starting in the pesticide residue laboratory, participants were taken on a tour of the lab sections concerned with the identification of pesticides used either in commercial applications or in the commission of a crime. Reflecting many of the same practices shown in the chemistry section of FDLE, the concepts used in mass spectrometry and chromatography were the highlight. Upon completion of the pesticide tour, participants were taken to the food safety lab, where procedures used to ensure our food's safety were shown. As we were in the middle of a national salmonella crisis at the time, testing on foods suspected of being the cause of the outbreak were being analyzed while participants were there. DNA extraction and sequencing, bacterial culturing, and random sampling were the key aspects shown during this section. Additionally, participants were shown equipment and procedures used to verify the claims made by manufacturers on their products (sugar-free, fat-free, etc.).
This material was modified for classroom use by taking participants through a series of lessons designed to help students understand 3 main concepts:
- The foods we eat are analyzed in a variety of ways to ensure their safety
- Individual strains of bacteria can be specifically identified to seek a connection in a national health crisis
- Claims made on foods are tested to ensure their accuracy
Day 2 Resources
Day 3: Dr. Erickson's Paleobiology Lab
FSU's new Life Sciences building was the site for day three's work. With one of Dr. Erickson's main areas of research involving growth patterns in the weight bearing bones of dinosaurs, he began his presentation by having our teachers prepare a thin slice slide of 65 million year old Tyrannosaurus Rex fibula bone. The slides were prepared to show several stages of dinosaur bone growth and blood vessel arrangements, and could be aged in a way similar to how a tree can be dated by its annual growth rig patterns. While slides were being prepared and observed, Dr. Erickson continued to explain and answer questions regarding other aspects of his research. One aspect that proved of interest to our teachers was related to how Dr. Erickson seeks out homologies for dinosaurs in modern reptiles. Bite forces, adolescent growth rates, muscle arrangements and a variety of other factors are researched in living animals to help Dr. Erickson and his lab answer questions about how dinosaurs lived.
This material was modified for classroom use by taking participants through a series of lessons designed to help students understand 3 main concepts:
- Sample size is an important factor to consider when making or interpreting conclusions
- Conclusions drawn from small sample sizes can be difficult to defend
- Fossils can yield much more information besides their physical measurements
Day 3 Resources
Day 4: Electron Microscopy
Day four was set up differently from the other days of the workshop. Instead of having the day's work at a single site, participants were taken to two different electron microscope research facilities. The main difference between the two was where their funding originated. One facility, part of the Mag Lab, was funded primarily through public funding, while the other was a privately funded facility. While both sites showed and explained the workings of the microscope, participants found the ways in which the facilities operated particularly interesting. Mr. David O'Hare owns and operates Parallax Laboratory and took participants through the workings of his private facility. Mr. Bob Goddard is responsible for supervising all electron microscopy work done at the publicly funded Mag Lab, and took participants through not just the processes of electron microscopy, but also through the frontiers the field is pushing through.
This material was modified for classroom use by taking participants through a series of lessons designed to help students understand 3 main concepts:
- There is a clear difference between direct and indirect observations
- It is important to consistently have students practice the difference between
observation and inference
- Scientific consensus, while open to reinterpretation upon discovery of new evidence, is the basis for much of the world's scientific knowledge
Day 4 Resources
For more information, contact Pat Dixon at pdixon@magnet.fsu.edu or (850) 644-4707.
Classroom Outreach
