Translating Protein Folding Research for K-12 Students and

the General Public

Gary Benz and Claudia Winkler

Introduction

• Objective is to translate current research into teacher friendly information and community accessible concepts through exhibits at Science museums

• Gary Benz, High School Science Teacher at American High School, Fremont Unified School District

• Claudia Winkler, High School Science Teacher at Gunderson High School, San Jose Unified School District

Timeline• Project started in Summer 2003• First month: information gathering• Second month: project definition with

Exploratorium in San Francisco and prototype creation

• Ongoing: completion of all aspects of project

• Target exhibit date on Museum floor: Fall 2004

Project topic

• Describe protein folding in ways that are accessible to students and the general public– Chose protein villin as the example for folding

because of its simple structure and available research at Stanford University and CPIMA

Project components

To Fold or Not to Fold?

The Chemistry of Villin

The Biology of Protein Folding

Photo of SnackSnack Presentation

Model Construction

Lesson Plans

Photo ofModel

ModelExploratorium Presentation

Future directions

• Develop similar process and deliverables for other research topics under research

• Publish results of our work in Journal of Chemical Education and other educational resources

• Q&A