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“I think it is always important
for 4-H agents to be looking for new programs, new ideas that may not
involve our traditional clientele."
Toni Riley
UK Cooperative Extension Agent for
4-H Youth Development
in Christian County
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By Laura Skillman
DAWSON SPRINGS, Ky., (Sept. 23, 2005) – Youth attending camp in west Kentucky
collected evidence then used biotechnology to solve a crime. The crime scene and
follow-up investigation were a major part of the recent Biotechnology Camp held
at the West Kentucky 4-H Camp.
“The purpose of this camp and others like it is to help inspire and introduce
young people to the field of biotechnology,” said David Hildebrand, a plant
biochemist and geneticist with the University of Kentucky College of
Agriculture.
Hildebrand said one of ideas behind camp and similar programs is that from a
historical perspective better-paying jobs are the result of advances in science
and technology.
Biotechnology is a rapidly developing field which has many applications
including agriculture, medicine and law enforcement, but it also has
applications in material science and engineering, Hildebrand said.
A task force in Kentucky has decided that there are certain areas where the
state should be in the forefront. Five critical technologies have been
identified in which the state can be competitive in the global marketplace, and
one of those is biotechnology.
Campers are between 11 and 14 years old. That age range was selected because
children at that age understand many of the principles if presented in the
proper way and they are not so set on a particular career path.
“One of the reasons for choosing this group is to inspire future Einsteins to
become the future leaders of biotechnology in Kentucky,” he said.
A crime scene was set up at the camp and detectives with the Hopkinsville Police
Department outlined how evidence is collected. The students collected evidence
and began analyzing it. Their analysis from the crime scene taught them to work
with DNA, cut it and analyze it for differences among suspects.
Campers also extracted DNA from strawberries and cloned DNA into a lab bacterial
host and analyzed the cloned DNA. Emerging careers in biotechnology were also
discussed including renewable energy development and applications, cloning of
animals, stem cell research and other applications in medicine.
Much of the preparation, organization, and science presentations for the camp
were performed by Larry Clay Greunke, UK agricultural biotechnology
undergraduate student, and UK technicians and research scientists Lauri Pulver
and Scott Kinison.
“Like all new technologies there are ethical issues that need to be discussed
and one has to appreciate regarding the applications of this technology,”
Hildebrand said. “Do we apply it to everything we can do? Just because we can do
it, should we do it? We want the kids to have an understanding that not only do
the lab scientists need to be involved in the development of biotechnology but
also social scientists and the rest of society.”
A 4-H Venture Grant was used to fund the camp along with another camp in north
central Kentucky. A statewide camp is being planned that will have a competitive
application process. Materials are being developed that 4-H agents across the
state can use in what is called “biotechnology on a shoestring.” It uses items
that can be bought at a local hardware store. Hildebrand said they also want
them to work with science teachers in their counties to bring it into the
classrooms.
“We hope that many of our young people in the future will have some
understanding of biotechnology even if they don’t want to be scientists,
including an understanding of its use in law enforcement or in medicine,” he
said. “They will be a part of the populous that makes decisions on what we
should do or what we shouldn’t, and we want people to make decisions with a good
understanding of what they are deciding upon.”
Toni Riley, Christian County Extension agent for 4-H/Youth Development, helped
organize the west Kentucky camp.
“I think it is always important for 4-H agents to be looking for new programs,
new ideas that may not involve our traditional clientele,” she said. “The
venture grant was specifically for farm families. This gives us opportunities to
branch out and provide new programs that they probably don’t think of when they
think of 4-H. Biotechnology is still very agriculturally based, but it gives us
a broader spectrum to provide kids education in, a different venue, different
setting and different people than they ordinarily would have been involved
with.”
Campers came from across west Kentucky and were recruited by 4-H agents with
recommendations from their teachers.
Jasmine Greinke of Ft. Campbell said she wasn’t looking forward to the
educational aspects of camp but then found out crime scenes were involved.
“I’m really interested in things like that,” she said. “I thought it was very
interesting. I didn’t know they had all the different color (fingerprint)
powders. I just thought that they had one.”
Camper James Walther of Herndon came to camp because he is interested in
majoring in animal sciences in college and thought it would be helpful to learn
about biotechnology.
“I thought it was very neat getting to see a crime scene, and we’ve started
looking at DNA and that’s been a lot of fun,” he said. “It’s been a really good
thing, and I’m glad the people who have done this are willing to do it. It’s
been very enjoyable.”
Writer: Laura Skillman
270-365-7541 ext. 278
Contact: David Hildebrand,
859-257-5020 ext. 80760
Toni
Riley, 270-886-6328Return to Main News page. |
