By Sherry F. Pruitt

JONESBORO -- More than 550 children and young adults have toured the Arkansas State University Biosciences Institute since March 2005.

The institute is under the direction of Dr. Carole Cramer, a world-renowned expert in the area of producing pharmaceuticals and vaccines in plants.

"Dr. Carole Cramer promotes this as part of her program. She wanted to make it a point that students and the community see what goes on here," even though there is high security, including palm scanners and codes, said Linda Kellim, elementary education science specialist with the Delta Math and Science Institute.

Monday, a group of ninth- and 10th-grade students on the ASU campus for a nursing health care day camp spent a couple of hours listening to Dr. Maureen Dolan, assistant professor of biology and ABI researcher, touring the science institute and spending time conducting a strawberry DNA abstraction in the lab.

Dolan said an ABI visit for children can have a positive impact on youngsters.

"It's cool to engage kids in an atmosphere, an opportunity, they can't get in the classroom," Dolan said.

"It helps give them a vision of what's out there and makes them aware of some of the research going on here," added Kellim.

Kellim and Debby Rogers, elementary education science specialist with the Rural Math and Science Institute, designate two days each month for tours of mostly school groups, although groups also tour the facilities at other times.

If a school group makes more than one trip, various lab tours are available so they don't have to repeat the same tour. Also, the tours target specific grade levels.

"The strawberry lab is different with fifth-graders and high school seniors. They differentiate between levels," Kellim said.

The institute has accommodated various age groups, from fifth-graders to college-age students, Kellim said.

Though children participated in a strawberry DNA lab Monday, another activity directed at the ABI is a chromatography lab, in which black ink is separated into various colors, and the ink is matched to a mock crime scene ransom note.

Another lab activity includes students investigating dominant and recessive traits of make-believe animals, she added, and other students have learned about handwashing and germs. Many tour the greenhouse on the top floor of the facility.

Dolan and Argelia Lorence, assistant professor of biology and ABI researcher, are working to develop an elementary level plant pigments activity that will complement the Arkansas Frameworks for science.

Activities at ABI seem to be in great demand. In addition to tours and short-term visits, ABI also offers all-day or weeklong intensive workshops for students, Kellim said. Approximately 100 of the 500-plus visiting students have attended workshops.

Students from public and private schools in the area have visited the institute. Other groups have included home-school students and campus organizations, such as ASU Upward Bound and Admissions students.

Some students already on campus for a crime scene investigation workshop, who were given an ABI tour, traveled from other states, such as Union City, Tenn., and Springfield, Mo., for the summer training.

Approximately 200 teachers have attended workshops at the institute, as many as 43 at a time or as few as eight for a workshop, according to a visitor log. In addition to teachers from The Sun's coverage area, attendees also were from Des Ark, Armorel, West Memphis, Forrest City and Alpena.

For example, 15 seventh- and eighth-grade teachers are scheduled for an ABI workshop, in which they will learn about new scientific frameworks and receive professional development credit, she said.

Soon, Arkansas students will begin receiving results from state Benchmark results. Training, such as that available at ABI, will help science teachers prepare their students for success in the classroom, she noted.

sherry@jonesborosun.com