This contest is in association with Professor Deborah Bell-Pedersen’s lecture titled “How Organisms Tell Time” that will be presented on March 9, 2010 at the Bush Presidential Library. This lecture is part of the Texas A&M University Distinguished Lecture Series sponsored by the Office of the President and Provost (http://provost.tamu.edu/tamudls/lectures/2009/how-organisms-tell-time). The contest is an activity sponsored by the Texas A&M University Chapter of Sigma Xi, the Research Society (http://sigmaxi.tamu.edu/) and is focused on promoting research among youth. There are three (3) separate contests that students may enter: a Drawing Contest, an Essay Contest, and an Experiment Contest.  Students are invited to submit entries in any or all three competitions.

Introduction to Biological Clocks:

All living organisms on Earth have some form of rhythms and cycles. Many are synchronized by the 24-hour cycle of Earth’s rotation and are said to have a circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythm (circa – about and dies – day in Latin) refers to changes seen in a 24-hour light-dark cycle. In general, our biological clock is what tells us when to wake, eat, and sleep and is what forms our daily routine. Using circadian rhythms of cancer cells, physicians can time the administration of chemotherapy drugs to the parts of the day when these cancer cells are least likely to be able to prevent the action of the medications.

Experiment Contest:

Experiment Description: There are many differences between day and night. Not all plants and animals have the same clocks as do humans, who mostly operate in the morning when we go to school and work.  Other species may do their daily routines at night. Have you ever stopped to notice these daily changes in animals and plants? Over the course of 5 days, pick an area outside of your house to make observations. In the morning before school and again in the evening, spend about 5 minutes writing down your observations about nature in that area. If you have the time to spend doing this experiment during your Winter Break off from school instead, you can make even more observations throughout the day. What animals do you see or hear?  Is there a difference in the morning compared to the evening?  How do plants that look differently in the morning than they do at night? Once you have made these observations and collected this data, create an experiment write-up explaining what you saw, heard, and discovered about any differences in the morning compared to the evening. Use the Nature Experiment Worksheet to record your observations, note questions to consider, and the address the format (steps 1-5) to direct your write-up.

Experiment Rules: The experiment entry should include completed data worksheets and an experiment write-up. The write-up should be a minimum of 200 words and a maximum of 300 words, either typed or hand written. It should be marked with the name of the student, grade level, age, the name of the teacher and school on the front. Contact information (name and phone number) should be on the back. Extra points may be awarded for those that complete the experiment during Winter Break where more time is dedicated to data collection in the experiment.

Drawing Contest:

Drawing Description: Using websites listed below for information about biological clocks, draw your vision of a biological clock in plants or animals. Your vision may be related to anatomical connections (how the different systems of the body interact at different times of the day), the changes seen in plants or animals throughout the day, the natural selection path (adaptations/inherited traits) that give different species an advantage for having a certain biological clock, or any other unique vision you wish to exhibit.

Drawing Rules: Paper must be no larger than 8 1/2 x 11 in., with no glitter or materials that might become detached. Create a drawing using colored pencils, markers, paint, or ink. No computer-drawn posters will be accepted. The front of the poster should have the student’s name, age, grade, the teacher’s name and school. Contact information (name and phone number) should be on the back. Extra points will be awarded for creativity. 

      Below, we have provided an example of a Biological Clock Picture. This picture shows changes seen in plants and animals throughout one day. This is a Google image, which we modified by including morning glories seen in the morning and evening. However, it is not acceptable in this contest to copy an image from the internet or any other source!  We are seeking “your” idea and image, not one that has already been created.

Essay Contest:

Essay Description: It is your job to classify a recently discovered, new species! You find out more about this mysterious creature by observing its unique biological clock. Using the websites listed below for ideas, describe what is similar and what is different about the day/night patterns of your new species vs. the patterns associated with an actual species.  In other words, imagine the unique biological clock in this fictitious species and compare it with biological clocks of known species. State how this new species benefits from its unique biological clock.

Essay Rules: The essay should be a minimum of 250 words and a maximum of 300 words, either typed or hand written. It should be marked with the name of the student, grade level, age, the name of the teacher and school on the front. Contact information (name and phone number) should be on the back of the essay. Extra points will be awarded for creativity and originality of thought process.

General Information:

Eligibility and Due Dates:

These three contests are open to all 6^th-8^th grade students. They may enter any or all three of the contests if they wish. Only one entry in each category per student will be accepted. All entries are due in the office of Dr. Larry Johnson no later than January 25, 2010. Entries will be judged by a panel of Texas A&M University students coordinated by Rebecca Rowntree. Teachers of winners will be notified February 15, 2010.  They will be recognized on March 9, 2010 before the TAMU Distinguished Lecture program, featuring Professor Deborah Bell-Pedersen and her lecture “How Organisms Tell Time” on the Texas A&M University campus.

Cross Curriculum Tips for Teachers: 

It may be advantageous for more than one Department to be part of this Contest.  For example, Language Arts teachers and Science teachers can collaborate and take a dual grade from the Essay contest and the Write-Up portion of the Experiment contest.  If students create graphs, math teachers may be able to take a grade for it.  Art teachers may be able to collaborate as well with the Science teachers and take a grade for the Drawing Contest.  These are just a few possibilities teachers can use.  Benefits to both teachers and students could be realized from cross curriculum/teaming strategies to enhance learning about biological clocks and their role/beneficial effects in the daily lives of plants and animals including humans.   

Prizes:

Four (4) winners will be chosen for the drawing contest, four (4) for the essay contest, and four (4) for the experiment contest. Each will receive a cash award, a certificate from the Office of the President and Provost, and an invitation to the pre-lecture dinner at the Bush Presidential Library. Winners of drawing and essay contests will receive $50 each. Winners of the experiment contest will receive $75 and a Texas Instruments (TI) graphing calculator each for their extra work on the data collection and analysis. Parents and teachers of winners are invited to the pre-lecture dinner and lecture. All drawings, essays, and experimental write-ups will be displayed in the foyer before the lecture on March 9, 2010.

Resources:

http://peer.tamu.edu/collaboration.shtml

http://provost.tamu.edu/tamudls/lectures/2009/how-organisms-tell-time

Research Websites:

http://www.learner.org/vod/vod_window.html?pid=1581

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20090107/Feature1.asp

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/clock.html

http://whyfiles.org/shorties/282sleep-wake/

http://encyclopedia.kids.net.au/page/ci/Circadian_rhythm

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bookshelf/br.fcgi?book=nap11617&part=a2000f7efddd00047#a2000f7efddd00061

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bookshelf/br.fcgi?book=neurosci&part=A1961

http://borazivkovic.blogspot.com/2005/01/clock-tutorials.html

http://scienceblogs.com/clock/chronobiology/misclockceptions/

http://www.sleepeducation.com/Disorder.aspx?id=63

http://template.bio.warwick.ac.uk/staff/amillar/andrewM/CBT tutorial/TUTORIALMAIN.html