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Issue: 890 Date: 9/13/2007
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WHO ARE YOU HO, WHO HO,WHO?
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"GENOME: The Secret of How Life Works" to Open at the Saint Louis Science Center September 29
Did you know that you share 50 percent of your DNA with a banana and 99.9 percent with everyone else on Earth? Have you ever wondered how genes affect growth and aging, or what your future children will look like?
Stop wondering and start exploring, because the future will unveil itself before your eyes when the Saint Louis Science Center opens "GENOME: The Secret of How Life Works" September 29-January 6, 2008. Scientists have mapped the human genome-a person's entire set of genes-and you can learn all about it at this fascinating, interactive exhibition.
"This is a tremendous learning opportunity for our region, and will demystify the science of genetics for the public in a way that is engaging and informative," said Doug King, President & CEO of the Science Center. "People can explore the true final frontier of humankind."
GENOME is made possible by Pfizer Inc. and was produced by Evergreen Exhibitions in collaboration with the National Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Whitehead Institute/MIT Center for Genome Research.
The exhibition, to be located in May Hall on the lower level of the Science Center, unlocks the mysteries of why the genome is being mapped, and the potential benefits of gene research from preventing and curing diseases to living longer, solving crimes and producing better drugs and food. It also chronicles the 200-year history of genome science and the individuals who shaped it, including Gregor Mendel, the 19th Century monk who discovered the rules of inheritance by cultivating peas in a monastery garden, to Jim Watson and Francis Crick, whose 1950s discovery of the famous DNA double helix changed the world forever.
Using interactive displays, GENOME is a visually rich environment full of family-friendly activities that are specifically designed to help visitors understand the genome's function and its role in daily life.
Among the key features are:
Giant Double Helix-An eight-foot-tall, 25-foot-long display of DNA's double helix structure.Discovery Theater-An opportunity to meet the minds that were instrumental in the discoveries leading up to the sequencing of the human genome.Hereditary Slot Machines-A working slot machine that demonstrates the odds children will inherit the genes for certain characteristics.The Cookie Factory-A visualization of protein production that children and adults alike can grasp, with DNA, genes and proteins as the ingredients and recipes for "making" human beings.
Admission to GENOME is free to the public.
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