The Life Science Lab is a space dedicated to educational programming, offering unique and scientifically authentic experiences to the public in the areas of genetics, biotechnology, agriculture, medicine, and health. Visitors can explore the life sciences using artifacts and tools and engage in experiments and hands-on, inquiry-based explorations.
New in the Lab
Aquarium
The Pacific Coral Reef aquarium is now open in the Life Science Lab Classroom. Visitors are welcome to step into the Classroom any time it's not in use and take a look at our Pacific reef ecosystem. If you're not sure where to look, just ask a staff member and we'll be happy to show you the aquarium. See if you can "find Nemo," see our live corals, or spot a blue sea star. Use our new touch screen exhibit to identify our reef organisms and learn about the many symbiotic relationships they form. Fish feeding at 11 Monday - Saturday and noon on Sunday, most days.
Become a Life Science Lab expert!
Receive a punch card and collect a punch for each activity bench you complete. Complete all seven to become an expert! Ask staff in tie dye lab coats in the lab for more information.
Transfusion Confusion
We're prototyping a new activity bench. Stop by the Lab to try it out and tell us what you think!
Birds in the Atrium
A new exhibit is open in the Life Science Lab Atrium! Come take a closer look at birds and their unique qualities and roles in our lives.
New model organism!
Our dumbo rats have arrived! Rats have long helped researchers understand the life sciences. Stop by the Staff Workroom to see Scout and Boo and learn more about them.
The Life Science Lab will be closed on Tuesday, April 17, for cleaning and maintenance. We apologize for the inconvenience.
The Life Science Lab is divided into four areas:
The Atrium
This area is also open to visitors of all ages. It provides an introduction to various life science concepts through the use of biological specimens and simple science tools available for visitors to use.
The Staff Workroom
Through the large glass window, visitors have a behind-the-scenes look into the workings of a real laboratory. This area is only open to staff and volunteers. Some of the exciting things going on in the Staff Workroom are:
- Backyard Biofuels - Be a Citizen Scientist! The SLSC is collaborating with the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in an exciting research project that with your help has the potential to discover algae species which may be used in cutting-edge biofuels research. For more information, visit www.backyardbiofuels.org The algae collecting season is over. We are currently analyzing the data from 2011, and will be reporting the results soon.
- Model Organisms/Axolotls in the Classroom- Model organisms are any type of organism that scientists have studied in the lab to help them understand more about all life on Earth. At the Life Science Lab we have several examples of model organisms! Stop by to check out our birds, fish, salamanders and crustacean model organisms. Every visit you might see something different!
- Axolotls in the Classroom - Did you love seeing our axolotls, or Mexican salamanders, in the Life Science Lab? Do you want to extend your learning experience about these amazing endangered animals and their ability to regenerate limbs? We are currently looking for 3-5th grade teachers interested in keeping an axolotl in their classroom for Spring 2012. Your axolotl will come complete with care instructions and accompanying lesson plans. If interested, please e-mail webmaster@slsc.org.
Activity Benches
Here you’ll find self-guided and self-paced hands-on activities where visitors get to wear safety gear and work with the real tools of scientists.
- Guidelines & Hours of Operation
- Monday - Saturday: 10-12:30 and 1:30-4. Sunday: 11-1 and 2-4 (Last entrance to the activity benches will be 15 minutes before closing.)
- Visitors must be 5 years old to enter the activity bench area.
- Visitors 5-9 must work with an adult (3 children per 1 adult)
- Visitors 10 and up may work by themselves.
- All visitors must wear a lab coat and safety glasses. Gloves may also be required depending on activity.
- Some of the activities you can do are:
- See DNA Without a Microscope – isolate and observe DNA from wheat
- Put Your Finger On It – examine your fingerprints and discover details in fingerprints that investigators use in forensics science while you solve a crime
- Seeing Cells – see your very own cheek cells under a microscope
- Be a Crime Scene Investigator – solve a crime using chromatography
- Life in the Lab – meet planaria and other model organisms that scientists use in their studies of biology
- Moving Microliters - learn how to use an important scientific tool, the micropipet
- NEW! Transfusion Confusion - determine the blood type of a patient undergoing surgery
- Suggestions for experiencing the Activity Benches
- Each activity will take about 10-15 minutes.
- For more information on our Scout Patches, click here.
The Lab Classroom
This area is for visitors of all ages and offers many educational programs.
- Find more information about Family Med School
- Check the calendar for free events that may be happening in the Lab Classroom
- Looking for on-site Life Science programs? We offer hands-on, activity based paid programs for groups. Click here to learn more.