This weekend, the University of Kentucky Department of Biology is hosting a one-day open house festival called the BioBonanza. The event will be held from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, at the new Don & Cathy Jacobs Science Building, located at 680 Rose St. This free public event will showcase interactive displays on research taking place in biology at UK.

 

"As soon as you walk through the doors you'll see all sorts of activities: displays of how a human heart works, butterflies and all sorts of insects, and you can even try to catch some local insects," said Jennifer Simkin, a postdoctoral student in biology who helped organize the event. "The displays will target high school and middle school students, but we’re going to have activities for people of all ages, so we welcome families. Students can come see the research and interact with the researchers."

 

Among the researchers will be graduate student Cole Malloy and his mentor, neurobiologist Robin Cooper. The pair is studying how the nervous system adapts to changes in the environment using fruit flies and crayfish.

 

"The breadth of the field is what drew me to biology," Malloy said. "In high school I was more a chemistry guy, like my advisor, and when I came to UK I became more interested in biology, especially genetics and neuroscience."

 

Free parking is available in the parking garage on Hilltop Avenue, next to the Don & Cathy Jacobs Science Building. This event is part of a monthlong celebration of the 150th birthday of Thomas Hunt Morgan, Lexington’s first Nobel Laureate.

 

Listen to this podcast and visit the BioBonanza Facebook page for more information.

 

 

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