Spring Issue 2006

Paracelsus Explored the Genome, and the Event was a Success!!!

The Committee on K-12 Education charted new territory this year at the 2006 SOT Annual Meeting. As an alternative to the teacher workshops previously offered at the Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting, the Committee partnered with the San Diego Natural History Museum to offer free admission on Sunday, March 5. At that time, the museum was featuring the Pfizer-sponsored traveling exhibit "Genome: The Secret of How Life Works." The Committee on K-12 Education and the Southern California Chapter of SOT sponsored the program “Paracelsus Explores the Genome: Toxicology Advances Health.” The special activities included exhibits about toxicology, a display of teacher materials, and a fun passport for kids along with free gifts. With the help of over 40 volunteers from the Society of Toxicology and the San Diego Natural History Museum, as well as support from Pfizer La Jolla, the Museum hosted almost 2500 visitors!!

The passport “Paracelsus Explores the Genome” encouraged children and adults to explore the Genome Exhibit and learn about toxicology along the way. The passport stations introduced visitors to Paracelsus, the father of modern toxicology, and the dose-response concept. Next stop was to learn about poisons — animal, plant, household, and general poison control information. The museum pet, “Harry the black widow,” was a real hit! Next to the 20-foot long DNA model within the Genome Exhibit was the Genetic Toxicology station — complete with an interactive computer display of DNA adducts, an introduction to genotoxicity testing, and how alterations in the genome lead to cancer.

Another excellent station was the Milestones of Toxicology display where over 500 copies of the poster developed by Steven G. Gilbert and Antoinette Hayes were given away. Passport participants could earn “extra credit” by going on a scavenger hunt to find the California condor at the museum, one of the bird species affected by DDT poisoning. The final passport station included a review of the toxicity of lead and how the reduction of lead in products has resulted in health benefits. Besides the passport stations, visitors were able to explore other toxicology exhibits such as Dose-Response, Poison Control, and Pulmonary Toxicity (lung casts courtesy of Dr. Robert Phalen, University of California, Irvine). The lung and interactive dose-response displays hosted many visitors with lots of questions!

Teachers could also obtain educational materials and handouts to share in their classrooms. Janessa Gruby, a high school teacher, attended a Museum Teacher’s Day exhibit in early February. While there, she heard about the free day that SOT was offering and created a 25-question scavenger hunt for her students to complete. She brought in over 45 students to explore the Genome exhibit and to participate in the Paracelsus Explores the Genome event. SOT applauds energetic teachers such as Janessa, who encourage learning and stimulate the minds of our students.

Visitors to the event had many positive comments and provided feedback to SOT, such as the comment from Harsh Sangani and family, “It was an excellent exhibition, great set up, and great explanations by members of your Society.”

When asked “What is one thing you learned about Toxicology today?,” many people learned “a lot.” Responses included:

The local organizing committee thanks the following organizations for contributing to this successful event: Pfizer LaJolla for printing and charitable contributions; Dr. Bob Phalen, UCI for the pulmonary exhibit; Southwestern College for graphic art design; California Lead Poisoning and Prevention for providing the lead test exhibit and free brochures; California Poison Control System for providing free magnets and brochures; the San Diego Natural History Museum for partnering on the event; and SOT for supporting the event.

Local Organizing Committee

Paracelsus Explores the Genome — Volunteers

The Genome exhibit is sponsored by Pfizer, Inc. and produced by Clear Channel Exhibitions in collaboration with the National Human Genome Research Institute, a division of the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, and Whitehead Institute/MIT Center for Genome Research. This exhibit http://genome.pfizer.com/index.cfm was on display at the San Diego Natural History Museum until May 1, 2006. Next stops for the exhibit are Museo Tecnologico in Mexico City May 2006–January 2007, New York Hall of Science from January–May 2007, and the St. Louis Science Center from September 2007–January 2008.