Superintendent's Online Forum

Kids turn into scientists

They watch plants grow and note mutations for international project.

Middle School, a class experiment could yield important results for researchers around the world. And it gives them a chance to try their hand at being real-life scientists
The BrachyBio! project allows students to assist in an international effort to characterize the genetics of a species of plant. The project is named after the plant used in the experiment, Brachypodium distachyon, a grass species related to wheat.

"We are essentially crowd-sourcing our genetics," said Tom Brutnell, scientist at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research at Cornell University, which sponsors the project along with the National Science Foundation. "And in the process, we're teaching kids about plants."

Wheatland-Chili is one of a dozen classrooms across the state that have incorporated the project into their curriculums.

Kim LaCelle, the Wheatland-Chili science teacher participating in the project, knows how important it is to have her students involved in hands-on projects. Her classroom is filled with scientific wonders, including tanks filled with tropical fish and albino frogs, mounted insects and windows that overlook a courtyard abundant with squirrels, birds and other wildlife.

"It's difficult to do things in school that connect to the real world," LaCelle said. "But this (project) shows that studying plants is really important, which I don't think kids even realized until now."

The results of the BrachyBio! project could ultimately lead to important scientific breakthroughs including causes of shifts in agricultural land use due to global warming, pressures on food supplies due to growing populations and use of biofuels to meet energy demands.

"It makes us feel important," said seventh-grader Taylor Clar. "It's fun stuff to do in class."
Throughout the months-long project, the 22 students in LaCelle's class will observe their plants and record any unusual characteristics that could reveal mutations in the plant. Those mutations might include different colors and striping, or an abnormal size and shape. If any mutations are found, the characteristics are relayed to the researchers at Cornell, as well as uploaded to a central database called iPlant, which is accessible to scientists around the world.

"I like seeing the plants after they've started growing and seeing how they've changed and mutated," said seventh-grader Rhiannon Goetze.
The plants and such equipment as temperature and humidity meters were provided free by Cornell. A researcher from Cornell even came out to LaCelle's classroom to check on the progress. "I like being depended on by college people," said seventh-grader Jazmine Boswell.

The program is still in its early stages, and Cornell is recruiting new classrooms for the project. LaCelle said she encourages other teachers to take part in it.

"What's so unique and so novel about (the project) is that it allows the students to become a part of the process of scientific discovery," she said. "And it gets them excited about science."

ESHEARING@DemocratandChronicle.com