Roche Molecular Systems in Pleasanton donated an estimated 72,000 dollars worth of used scientific equipment and supplies to the Science Department just in time for back to school.
Janet Kaehms, the Dublin High School Science Co-Chair, said the supplies came to Dublin High through word-of-mouth.
"Roche was gathering equipment they had planned to dispose of and when they heard that Dublin High School's biotech program was still relatively new, they offered to give the cast-off equipment with them," she commented.
Kaehms says the program at Dublin High School is about two years old while 's program is older and already well-established for equipment.
Kaehms said the donation will help the school science program keep up-to-date with "current scientific protocols" and will help provide a "hands-on experience" for students.
"The equipment is all used or stuff they would have thrown away, but, to a high school Biotechnology program, it was like Christmas and my birthday all rolled into one," commented Kaehms.
According to Kaehms, it took seven adults and several hours to transfer the whole shipment of supplies which included microcentrifuges, graduated cylinders and micropipettes to the school and it took most of the day to sort through the equipment.
Kaehms donated any of the equipment she could not use to a program called the "Biotech Depot" which gathers and shares equipment with educators in the Bay Area.
Kaehms wrote:
"Our biotechnology and AP science programs are growing at a fantastic rate. Roche's support enables us to provide key hands on experiences to our students with advanced equipment. Having enough of the right equipment allows each student to participate actively in current experiments, gaining crucial knowledge that will help prepare our students for a future in Science. Dublin High School values Roche's support of its community and our students in particular. With 130 students scheduled to take Introduction to Biotechnology, 65 in AP Biology, and, 60 in AP Chemistry the donation will be well used this year and for many years to come.
Microcentrifuges like the ones shown can spin a sample at 10,000 rpm. This separates particles from a liquid sample and is very important when you are trying to amplify a piece of DNA. The graduated cylinders are important for measuring in all of our science courses but, they are expensive so they used to be a limiting factor for our labs. Our aim is to get as many students as possible actively involved in a hands on fashion in lab. Now we have enough for several classes to run labs simultaneously. The micropipettes accurately measure tiny volumes of liquid called micro liters. That is 1/1,000,000 liter. The reagents and samples in biotechnology are often very small in volume and the micropipettors are central to our labs."
