AT UO EXHIBIT, FAIRGOERS SEE INVISIBLE RAYS, MUTANT ZEBRAFISH, GUESS AT GIANT MICROPROBE PHOTOS OF TINIEST THINGS
August 17, 1999
Contact Jeffrey Flowers, UO Community Outreach Coordinator
cell phone at the Lane County Fair booth (541) 953-2986
Editor’s Note:
To obtain a black-and-white jpeg or tiff file of a microprobe photo taken by the University of Oregon’s electron scanning microscope, call 346-3134. Fairgoers will be asked to see if they can identify what tiny structure the photo enlargement shows.EUGENE–Visitors to the Hall of Technology at the Lane County Fair this year can put their hands on some high-tech equipment used by scientists to see invisible electromagnetic and infrared radiation rays.
The interactive exhibit can make visible the rays emitted by television control devices and illuminate the flow of electrons through the human body.
Visitors also can see six different mutant varieties of zebrafish from the UO’s world-renowned zebrafish research laboratory. Researchers around the world are studying the zebrafish to find answers that will help pinpoint better diagnosis, treatment and cures of hundreds of genetic and developmental disorders such as muscular dystrophy, spina bifida and ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease).
A small light-seeking robot with a mind of its own (a worm brain), UO researchers’ work in unraveling the mysteries of the human brain, and colorful images of brain waves in a live human subject will be on display.
Fairgoers also can see images of some of the largest bodies and tiniest structures in the universe taken at the UO’s Pine Mountain Observatory and at the UO’s sophisticated scanning electron microprobe laboratory. Visitors will be asked to guess at what tiny structures the giant microprobe enlargements portray.
At the computer stations, students, parents and other visitors may want to check out the nationally recognized web-based physics curriculum on solar and alternative energy sources, distance learning programs and other UO research sites.
The University of Oregon, SONY, Rosen Products, City of Eugene, Symantec, Lane ESD and the Lane ESD Planetarium, as well as other Lane County industries are working together to showcase how their technologies influence our lives. A primary objective of the event is to create interest among young people to pursue education and careers in technology.
Historically, fairs were the place where the public had a chance to view the very latest in technology, from agricultural advances and machinery to automobiles and the Ferris wheel. The Hall of Technology is located near the Main Entrance to the Lane County Fair, Aug. 17—22.
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