The CU Wizards Series at the University of Colorado at Boulder will present its first program of the spring semester, "The Biology of Muscles and Movement," on Saturday, Jan. 30.
Professors Todd Gleeson and Mark Osadjan of the environmental population and organismic biology department will present the show in the Cristol Chemistry and Biochemistry Building, room 140, at 9:30 a.m.
The duo plan to use demonstrations and interactive experiments to explain the structure and function of skeletal muscle. They will electrically stimulate their own muscles to illustrate muscle shortening at the molecular level and will construct a muscle cell using the children in the audience. Animals on treadmills will be used to explain the concept of muscle metabolism.
Gleeson described his work with CU Wizards as fun and rewarding.
"The program is a valuable exercise to show kids that science is understandable and exciting," he said.
The CU Wizards series is an annual program that provides an informal introduction to biology, astronomy, chemistry and physics to schoolchildren. It includes presentations by CU-Boulder faculty from various fields of expertise.
The CU Wizards programs are free and open to the public and are recommended for children grades five through nine. Reservations are not required.
Free parking is available in lot 378 east of the stadium and north of Colorado Avenue, lots 396 and 169 north of the stadium, and lot 436 east of the Engineering Center. Anyone with a disability or special need should notify the physics department at 303-492-6952. For general information about the CU-Wizards series call 303-492-4318.
CU-Boulder professor Eric Cornell will present the next program in the series, "Speed," on Feb. 27, in Duane Physics building room G-1B30.