From Care Bears to Mr. Ed - A Microbiology Project
The Spring 2002 Microbiology class stretched their creative minds as they looked for ways to get the word out about viruses and bacteria. Jerry Knutson's Microbiology class was asked to identify an audience. The students then came up with a way to educate these audiences on the effects and prevention of viruses and bacteria. Some of the audiences identified included Riverview Hospital, a turf management class, Path Finders youth group, UMC Children's Center, and the National Guard.
The students picked up the assignment and ran with it. Projects were as diverse as they were creative. For example, Debra Simpkins asked her friend, Missy Barrus, to illustrate her story, Casey Learns About Microbes. Click here to read Casey Learns About Microbes. Simpkins presented her story to the children at the UMC Children's Center.
Below is the front cover of a comic book created by Scott Kubichek. Kubichek tackled the topic of Chlamydia. Notice that Super Chlamydia Man has a striking resemblance to Jerry Knutson.
Did you ever wonder what happened to the Care Bears? Ray Krieger figured it out. Krieger decided to do his project on Sexually Transmitted Diseases telling the story about the free loving Care Bears. Click here to read about what happened to the Care Bears.
Another student focused his attention on informing farmers of a crop disease. He created a presentation on the history, cause, and prevention of a fungal disease, Fusarium Head Blight, also know as Wheat Scab. Click here to view the PowerPoint presentation on Wheat Scab.
One last example of the projects that came out of Jerry Knutson's Spring 2002 Microbiology class is Mr. Ed Needs Protection . This presentation discusses the topic of Bio-Security, a means of controlling disease in livestock.
Knutson's class came up with unique and fun ways to inform people about many microbiological issues. They found a way to reach people of a wide age range and background. While the students were having fun researching the projects, many of them learned more than they intended to.
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