Science ALIVE! CDC: Wyoming Unit

The Twin Pines Mystery Illness

The scenario: The citizens of the town of Twin Pines are suffering from a variety of bizarre symptoms. Is the culprit the nuclear power plant, the old gold mine, or the pig farm?

Solving the mystery involves finding answers to many questions:

• How safe is the power plant? (The Engineering of Energy Sources Lab)
• What is in the mysterious memo from the power plant? (Cryptography Lab)
• What toxins are in the lake and how do they affect the food chain? (Bioaccumulation Lab)
• What are the residents' symptoms and how are they connected? (Medical Diagnostics Lab)
• What does ground water flow  tell us? (Porosity and Permeability Lab)

To solve the mystery, small groups of students work with a Science Posse member in one of five labs that run concurrently. Within each lab, the students examine one facet of the mystery, but it cannot be solved until each lab group has presented their findings to the entire group. When all of the pieces of the puzzle are in place, the Twin Pines Mystery Illness is solved.

Time Requirements:

Completing the labs, making the presentations and solving the mystery requires 3 hours. To ensure the best lab experience for the students, we have set 50 as the maximum number of students we can work with at one time.

After Your Visit is Scheduled, But Before the Posse Arrives:

1. Download these materials:

• An Overview of the Unit for the Teacher. This includes standards and objectives, descriptions of the labs and relevant vocabulary for each lab.
• Material for Students. These provide background knowledge about the situation and people of Twin Pines. These need to be read and discussed before the Posse arrives.
• Graphic Organizer. This needs to be completed and brought to each lab so students have the information they need without having to go back to the reading material.
• Map of Twin Pines. This should be used in conjunction with the readings.
• Request for help from Twin Pines and descriptions of all the labs.

2. Prepare your students:

• Complete the graphic organizers with your students using the Introductory Readings and the Map.
• Have students read the request for help and lab descriptions.
• Divide the students into the lab groups. (CDC works best if students can select the lab they want to work in. However, we appreciate teachers using their judgement in forming productive groups.)

Last Updated on 8/28/2010 1:14:12 AM