Sporting a baseball cap and a big grin, Dr. John Bartlett, of the Campbell University Biology Department, holds a human skull in one hand and a pair of calipers in the other.”Bones can tell lots of tales about you,” said Bartlett to the group of 20 Western Harnett High School students who watched with interest. “Bone width can determine your gender, your race, your height and age.”Divided into groups of three, the students perform their own measurements as part of a seminar and lab activity on the identification of skeletal remains based on the book, “The Bone Detective,” by Diane France. The seminar is one of five presented annually to high school students in Harnett County through a science outreach program called High School Science Seminars (HISS), a cooperative effort of Campbell University’s School of Pharmacy and Biological Sciences Department and the Harnett County School System.The HISS program encourages students at the high school level to increase their understanding of science and science career options though science literature and hands-on experiences.”By exposing the kids to hands-on science early on, students understand that science is a discovery process, rather than just a multiple choice quiz. It can get students interested in science as a possible career choice,” said program director Dr. James Junker, associate professor of science in the Campbell University School of Pharmacy.Over a three-year period, HISS will have reached 240 students who attended seminar style workshops based on science literature and lab activities. Recent seminars have been based on the books “The Bone Detective,” “Mutants, Clones and Killer Corn—Unlocking the Secrets of Biotechnology” and “The Botany of Desire—A Plant’s Eye-View of the World.”At the end of the school year, the students are invited to a spring assembly to share their experiences and participate in one last, hands-on activity.In order to examine science career opportunities, six students were selected to spend two weeks during the summer shadowing a scientist or faculty member. These students worked on projects in the lab and presented their experiences to faculty and family members at the end of the two weeks.”Also during the summer a day camp, SciPharm (the Science behind the Pharmacist), was made available to students. A total of 19 high school students participated in last summer’s camp, which focused on introducing students to the pharmacy profession. This year’s theme is the study of drug development.”The HISS program is obviously a good recruiting tool,” said Junker, “but our primary objective is to enhance the science education of rural Harnett County students, to get them excited about science.”The HISS program is made possible through a grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. For more information, contact Emily Bloom at 910.893.1842 or 800.769.9697, ext. 1842.Photo Copy: Overhills High School students Katie Tabor and Devon LeGrand measure a femur bone with giant calipers during one of Campbell University’s High School Science Seminars.
Campbell opens science classrooms to Harnett County students