LibGuides: Wildlife Forensics Kit Rental: Wildlife Forensics Educator Guide

Wildlife Forensics

Tips to Prepare for Using the Kit in Your Classroom

Before you receive the kit, review the Educator's Guide and Glossary to prepare for your students
Read the Essential Questions (p. 1) and Connections to Standards (p. 2) to decide how you want to link your curriculum with your kit usage
Complete the Pre-Kit Lesson with your class activating student interest and engagement
Create and place students in groups that will encourage their best work
Have your pre-kit call with a science specialist at ESC

Library Finds

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "The story of modern medicine and bioethics--and, indeed, race relations--is refracted beautifully, and movingly."--Entertainment Weekly NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM HBO® STARRING OPRAH WINFREY AND ROSE BYRNE * ONE OF THE "MOST INFLUENTIAL" (CNN), "DEFINING" (LITHUB), AND "BEST" (THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER) BOOKS OF THE DECADE * ONE OF ESSENCE'S 50 MOST IMPACTFUL BLACK BOOKS OF THE PAST 50 YEARS * WINNER OF THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE HEARTLAND PRIZE FOR NONFICTION NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review * Entertainment Weekly * O: The Oprah Magazine * NPR * Financial Times * New York * Independent (U.K.) * Times (U.K.) * Publishers Weekly * Library Journal * Kirkus Reviews * Booklist * Globe and Mail Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells--taken without her knowledge--became one of the most important tools in medicine: The first "immortal" human cells grown in culture, which are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb's effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions.  Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave. Henrietta's family did not learn of her "immortality" until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists investigating HeLa began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. And though the cells had launched a multimillion-dollar industry that sells human biological materials, her family never saw any of the profits. As Rebecca Skloot so brilliantly shows, the story of the Lacks family--past and present--is inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of.  Over the decade it took to uncover this story, Rebecca became enmeshed in the lives of the Lacks family--especially Henrietta's daughter Deborah. Deborah was consumed with questions: Had scientists cloned her mother? Had they killed her to harvest her cells? And if her mother was so important to medicine, why couldn't her children afford health insurance?  Intimate in feeling, astonishing in scope, and impossible to put down, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks captures the beauty and drama of scientific discovery, as well as its human consequences.
The Wildlife Detectives by Donna M. Jackson; Slaughtering elephants for their ivory; shooting bears for their gall bladders; capturing sea turtles for soup. In the name of vanity, fashion, and greed, man stalks and kills wild animals -- and gets away with it, even when it is clearly against the law. But now scientists have a way to catch and convict poachers. In a laboratory in Ashland, Oregon, they analyze clues to link suspects to crimes. In words and pictures, this book tells a poignant story and reveals how science can indeed save the day.
Chasing Cheetahs by Sy Montgomery; * "A readable, informative and elegant book on an equally elegant feline."--School Library Journal, starred review   Since 1900, the number of cheetahs has plummeted from more than 100,000 to fewer than 10,000. At the Cheetah Conservation Fund's (CCF) African headquarters in Namibia, Laurie Marker and her team work to save these stunning creatures from extinction. They've rescued more than 900 cheetahs, most of whom have been returned to the wild.    Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop join CCF to study the cheetah's ecological, genetic, and behavioral patterns in order to save the fastest animal on land--before it is too late.
Bodies We've Buried by Jarrett Hallcox; Amy Welch; Two National Forensic Science Institute administrators invite readers into what the Washington Post calls "the Harvard of hellish violence"-the only hands-on CSI school of its kind where students are trained in burial recovery with actual human remains. With exclusive access to a world normally off-limits to the public, this is the first book to go behind the scenes of the ten-week course that discloses the uncensored realities of burial exhumations and the fascinating art of forensic investigation.

Wildlife Forensics

Wildlife Forensics applies scientific procedures to investigate wildlife-related crimes such as poaching and illegal hunting. Forensic scientists collect evidence from other wildlife professionals) example: game wardens or park rangers. The evidence can be examined for species identification, suspects at the crime scene and cause of death. One procedure commonly applied by wildlife forensic scientists is DNA fingerprinting, using gel electrophoresis. It is useful in determining a specific species of animal by isolating a particular string in the DNA sequence. By identifying the species by a DNA fingerprint, a forensic scientist can conclude whether or not the organism was harvested legally.

Our Educator Guide

Wildlife Forensics Educator Guide

Sora eBooks

Access these free ebooks by signing in to the Sora app with your NYC DOE credentials

Return from Extinction by Linda L. Richards Less than 100 years ago, the northern elephant seal was thought to be extinct. Today more than 250,000 elephant seals swim in the Pacific Ocean from Alaska to Mexico. In Return from Extinction: The Triumph of the Elephant SealLinda L. Richards tells the story of their dramatic recovery. Elephant seals were hunted to near extinction for their precious oil before the Mexican government stepped in to protect them. Many people thought it was too late. Even though the life of the elephant seal is difficult and only 20 percent of pups born will make it to adulthood, the species adapted and came back from the brink. They are a true conservation success story.
Blood, Bullets, and Bones by Bridget Heos Blood, Bullets, and Bones provides young readers with a fresh and fascinating look at the ever-evolving science of forensics.  Since the introduction of DNA testing, forensic science has been in the forefront of the public's imagination, thanks especially to popular television shows like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. But forensic analysis has been practiced for thousands of years. Ancient Chinese detectives studied dead bodies for signs of foul play, and in Victorian England, officials used crime scene photography and criminal profiling to investigate the Jack the Ripper murders. In the intervening decades, forensic science has evolved to use the most cutting-edge, innovative techniques and technologies. In this book, acclaimed author Bridget Heos uses real-life cases to tell the history of modern forensic science, from the first test for arsenic poisoning to fingerprinting, firearm and blood spatter analysis, DNA evidence, and all the important milestones in between. By turns captivating and shocking, Blood, Bullets, and Bones demonstrates the essential role forensic science has played in our criminal justice system.
Sea Otters by Isabelle Groc; Judi Dench (Foreword by); David F. Mills (Foreword by) Sea otters once ruled the Pacific Ocean, but the fur trade of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries brought this predator to near extinction. Today they're slowly coming back from the brink, and scientists are learning more about their pivotal role as one of nature's keystone species. This book looks at the history, biology, behavior and uncertain future of sea otters. Author and photojournalist Isabelle Groc takes us into the field: watching sea otter rafts off the British Columbia coast from a kayak, exploring what makes their fur coats so special, understanding how their voracious appetites are helping kelp forests thrive and, ultimately, learning how sea otters are leaving their mark (or paws) on every part of the ecosystem. They might be one of the most adorable creatures in the ocean, but kids will discover how their survival is key to a rich, complex and connected ecosystem.

Kit Contents

This kit includes equipment to run a gel electrophoresis lab, to determine if an organism is endangered through the visible separation of DNA through agarose gel. Equipment includes gel electrophoresis boxes, agarose powder, buffer solution, gel recipe, DNA quick Strips, micropipettes and all other materials needed to run a successful lab.

Tips for Using the Kit in Your Classroom

Inspect kit using the unpacking list and check for any missing or damage items
Make gels using the gel recipe ahead of time for students and store them in the refrigerator before use in the classroom
Place students in 7 groups to ensure each group has a gel and micropipette to share.
Review micropipette parts and functions and have students practice first using a practice gel and colored water
Buffer solution can be left in the gel electrophoresis box and reused with other classes
When packing kit for return use and check off the packing list provided