North to Alaska, go north the rush is on... (Johnny Horton, North to Alaska)
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Thanks to PolarTREC, Elizabeth Webb (Researcher, University of Florida) and my school district in Vermont, Franklin West Supervisory Union, I’m thrilled to head north to the Polar Regions for a research experience outside of Healy, Alaska at the end of this month. Elizabeth Webb, the researcher I’ll be working with, stopped by my classes here at Bellows Free Academy (BFA) in Fairfax, Vermont a couple weeks ago. I was excited to introduce my high school students in Forensics, Botany and Anatomy and Physiology to Elizabeth. She explained what we’d be working on and showed pictures of her research equipment at the 8-mile Lake Research Site outside of Healy, AK.
http://www.biology.ufl.edu/ecosystemdynamics/CiPEHR.html
While at BFA Elizabeth demonstrated the use of the LI-COR CO2 Gas Analyzer (the main tool used for measuring CO2 levels at the research site) in some innovative ways. In Botany class we attempted to use the analyzer as it is used in Elizabeth’s research. We devised a collection apparatus (plastic sheet cake cover) then went outside and attempted to measure soil microbe respiration. Despite the temperatures having been in the +40’s F the previous day it was back down in the single digits with a breeze. Even though, on the hard frozen ground in the forest understory near the school we were still able to detect microbial respiration by an increase in CO2 measurement of 6-7 ppm (parts per million)!
Researcher Elizabeth Webb (seated) explains microbial respiration to BFA-Botany class in the forest understory in Fairfax, VT.
In Anatomy and Physiology class we used the LI-COR CO2 Gas Analyzer to measure human respiration at rest and after exercise. Students breathed into plastic cups with the LI-COR attached and were able to get a graphic representation of the varying amount of CO2 in their exhalation(s) between at rest heart rate and after exercise (running up and down the stairs for 3 minutes).
Researcher Elizabeth Webb and students of BFA-Anatomy and Physiology measure CO2 exhalation.
Thanks Elizabeth and PolarTREC, my students had a great time making real-life connections to scientific tools and research.