Ceremony for Conners Emerson School and Jackson Laboratory Short Course in Experimental Bacteriology

Date: April 27, 2004

Where: C.C. Little Auditorium, The Jackson Laboratory

When: Friday, April 30, 2004, 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

Who: Conners Emerson School Second-Grade Students

Conners Emerson School Second-Grade Teachers: MaryAnne Young, Rochelle Sprague, and Karen Barter

Jackson Laboratory Scientists: Drs. Timothy O’Brien, Gregory Cox, and Robert Burgess

Jackson Laboratory Educational Programs Manager: Dr. Jon Geiger

On Friday, April 30, The Jackson Laboratory will hold a special ceremony for more than 40 second-grade students from Conners Emerson School who took part in The Jackson Laboratory Short Course in Experimental Bacteriology–a program specifically geared towards introducing elementary school students to science.

One of four local schools to take part in this annual event, the Conners Emerson students were visited by Jackson Laboratory scientists over three days to learn about bacteria while gaining an understanding of the experimental process. Experiments performed during the Course included a comparison of bacterial growth swabbed from various locations, and a study of the bacteria found on washed versus unwashed hands.

During Friday’s ceremony, the students will be presented with an official Short Course in Experimental Bacteriology diploma by Jackson Laboratory scientists, Drs. O’Brien, Cox, and Burgess, and Educational Programs Manager Dr. Jon Geiger, who led the Course.

With more than 1,300 employees and an operating budget of $127 million, the 75-year-old Jackson Laboratory is one of Maine's largest employers. Its 350-person research staff investigates the genetic basis of cancers, heart disease, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, glaucoma, diabetes and many other human diseases and disorders. The Laboratory is also home of the Mouse Genome Database and many other publicly available information resources, and is an international hub for scientific courses, conferences, training and education—including programs for Maine high school, college and graduate students.

Contact(s): Jade Harmer, 207-288-6051, jade@jax.org

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Media Relations, Communications Office
The Jackson Laboratory
600 Main Street
Bar Harbor, Maine 04609-1500
Phone: 207-288-6051
Fax: 207-288-6076
Email: news@jax.org