Mariner High School science teacher Danielle Thompson was just hoping enough students would sign up so she could offer a biotechnology class for the first time next fall.
She ended up with 92 showing interest, enough for three classes. The Everett school will offer two classes for about 60 students.
“To be real honest, I think ‘CSI’ has a lot to do with it,” she said, referring to the TV show about forensic science and crime-scene investigations.
Thompson hopes to cultivate a lifelong interest in biotechnology, not only for those interested in science careers, but for students as they dwell on issues affecting mankind, including stem-cell research and genetically altered foods.
More and more Puget Sound-area schools are beginning to offer biotechnology courses or are weaving the curriculum into existing science classes. Dan Bates / The Herald
The Sno-Isle Tech Skills Center in south Everett, which serves 1,000 students from 42 high schools, has raised the possibility of beginning a biotechnology class in the future.
Joe Day, who has a doctorate in molecular and cellular biology, teaches biotechnology at Lynnwood High School.
“I think the truth is the reason they enjoy it is it’s hands-on in-depth and problem solving,” Day said. “A lot of it is they get to play with tools and equipment.”
Some may see it as a stepping stone to a job at the 150 biotechnology companies in the region, he said.
Mainly, Day said, he wants his students to see biotechnology’s potential.
“It can be almost anything, but in reality, what it really is, is using tools to conquer the last major obstacles – cancer, heart disease and aging, things like Alzheimer’s, the major medical problems in our country.”
Student studies can take many forms.
Ryan Crow, 15, a Lynnwood High School sophomore, last week pulled a salamander from a pipe in a salmon pen he tends at the school. Earlier, he caught a snake that was feasting on the fish, placed it in a classroom terrarium and got on the computer to try to determine the species.
Crow has raised the salmon and monitored the water quality. He released the fish in Swamp Creek after months of independent study.
“It’s more hands-on than any other class in this school,” he said. “It’s all research. It’s stuff you do in real life.”
Cong Cao Kha, 17, a junior, is already preparing for medical school entrance exams after college. He can quickly set up a DNA sequencing lab and cut DNA strands for analysis on a computer.
He said he up is taking biotechnology to increase his knowledge.
“I want to know where I came from, what made me the way I am, what controls me,” he said. “It gives you insight.”
Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.
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