Block party in Downtown Seattle could change how kids think about science

It tends to happen during the middle school years. Some kids just lose interest in science. But a block party in Downtown Seattle Saturday hopes to change that trend.

The block party is hosted by the Seattle Children’s Research Institute and is geared toward teaching kids how their science or math classes translate into a career.

“That type of reinforcement is really sort of crucial. Because it’s hard, you know, science isn’t easy. It does take a lot of time studying, time in the laboratory so it’s work involved but the reward is that you get to do something that’s very, very exciting. I can say for all of the things that I can complain about in my career I’ve never been bored,” Doctor David Beier said.

And how could he be studying the African Spiny Mouse? A veritable mutant mammal among us.

Beier is the director of Developmental Biology and Regenerative Medicine at Seattle Children’s. That very long title means he studies the biological processes used to make things like organs and muscles. To a child that sounds like gobbledygook, but tell them that a bird can take a chomp out of the African Spiny Mouse and it can grow its skin back with no trace of a scar and you might hook them.

“We can apply those principles to, for example, kids who get kidney injuries and it would be a huge advantage,” Beier said.

Beier will be at the block party to explain further and so will Doctor Amanda Jones.

Part of Jones’ job it is to travel to elementary schools around the state with a mobile science lab — a bus packed with lab gear.

She says many schools lack the funding to bring hands-on science lessons and for that reason, plus a few others, by middle school low-income students and girls especially lose interest in science and math.

“Partly it’s exposure, it’s also role-models, it’s also helping people see what this career can mean for them because how could you envision yourself in a career in research or in health care unless you have some idea of what that can look like?” Jones said.

The bus will be at the block party, too, where Jones will offer kids the chance to take a “sniff test” and examine things under microscopes.

Kids will also get a look at how Zebrafish are being used to develop better treatments for a type of muscular dystrophy. Doctor Lisa Maves, assistant professor and investigator at Seattle Children’s, heads the lab.

“The gene that is mutated in human patients that have Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is called Dystrophin and Zebrafish have the same gene,” Maves explained.

Her lab uses Zebrafish to test out new combinations of drugs to treat muscular dystrophy. Maves says it’s a quicker and more effective way to do it when compared to mouse trials.

“The fish absorb it and the experiments are very fast because of the growth rate of the animals, and so within a week we can test a drug and ask whether it improves the muscle,” Maves said.

Zebrafish also show promise in finding effective treatments for congenital heart defects.

The Seattle Children’s Research Institute block party is Sept. 10 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 1920 Terry Ave.

Follow @http://twitter.com/ColleenKIROFM