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Article for: The Davis Enterprise
Date: February 20, 2004
Author: Leslie Madsen

EXPLORIT'S FREE INNOVATION WEEK FEATURES SPECIAL EVENTS

Tiny machines enter our bloodstreams. The Hubble telescope lets us peer back to the beginnings of our universe. Virtual reality machines guide us through luminous soundscapes.

If there's one thing unifying humanity, it's our ability to innovate. Today, innovation is fueled by a combination of age-old desire and brand new technologies. This week, Explorit Science Center celebrates this marriage of human impulse and ingenuity by hosting Innovation Week.

Innovation Week ties in with a nationwide examination of current and historical innovations in PBS's ongoing series INNOVATION. The eight episodes in this series, which began Feb. 10 and runs through May 4, examine the technologies of skyscrapers, brain surgery, espionage, war, crash site investigations, heart attack therapies, fiber optics, and lie detection.

Explorit's Innovation Week activities focus on forensic science. All events are free.

Tomorrow, from 1 to 3 p.m. visitors can enjoy the "Mystery Festival,"which provides an overview of some of the tools used in forensic science. Participants will explore evidence at a mock crime scene and use hands-on tools to draw their own conclusions.

On Monday, visitors to Explorit can learn about DNA, life's fundamental "fingerprint." Between 1 and 3 p.m., children and adults can extract and view their own DNA from saliva samples, as well as make double-helix bracelets from simulated DNA. Normally closed on Mondays, Explorit will be open for the holiday from 1 to 4:30 p.m.

Tuesday's "Forensic Science Night" features a trio of scientists who work in diverse forensics fields. From 6 to 8 p.m., Karen Cebra, Rebecca Bullard, and Joy Viray will be the featured speakers at a discussion forum.

Cebra, a UC Davis research specialist in firearm analysis, will talk about her recent work in ballistics and will explain the process by which bullets may be traced back to the gun from which they were fired. Viray, who works at the Sacramento County Crime Lab, will address the advantages and liabilities of DNA analysis in crime scene investigations. Bullard, a forensic entomologist at UC Davis, will discuss the application of entomology to criminal investigation. Specifically, she will talk about how insects collected at crime scenes can help answer a number of important questions, including the time and location of a murder.

The three scientists will be introduced by Oliver Hauk, president and CEO of Siemens Transportation Systems, which is major sponsor of the PBS series. While adults attend the discussion, the exhibit hall will be open with supervised activities for children.

Between 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. on Friday, visitors to Explorit can experiment with the ways chemistry helps professionals in a broad range of fields solve mysteries. Using acids, bases, and pH paper, participants will investigate and identify unknown substances in "Chem-Mysteries."

Finally, on Saturday, Feb. 28, Innovation Week concludes with "Maggot Art!" between 1 and 3 p.m. Using different colors of paint and live maggots, visitors will create fascinating artwork and learn about maggot life cycles and locomotion. The activity is completely safe for both humans and maggots. During the activity, Bullard will talk informally about how scientists use maggots to solve mysteries.

All Innovation Week activities are free, and Explorit will not charge admission to its current exhibition, "Get a Clue! Solving Mysteries with Science." Seating space is limited for Tuesday's "Forensic Science Night" discussion, so attendees should call (530) 756-0191 to reserve a space.

For more information about PBS's INNOVATION series, visit www.pbs.org/innovation. For information about Explorit's Innovation Week, call (530) 756-0191 or visit www.explorit.org. 

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Explorit Science Center is at 3141 5th Street in East Davis. The current exhibition is "Get a Clue! Solving Mysteries With Science," which continues through March 7. Public hours are Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Tuesday through Friday from 2 to 4:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.explorit.org or call Explorit at (530) 756-0191.