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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 7, 2006
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Brooklyn Botanic Garden Science Research Interns Win Grand Prize in National Science Research Contest
Prize is First-Time Win For Students of Brooklyn Academy of Science and the Environment
Shadae Dixon and Thinlay Dolma set up data loggers in the Native Flora Garden at Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
Brooklyn, NY—July 7, 2006—Brooklyn Botanic Garden science research interns, Shadae Dixon and Thinlay Dolma, juniors at Brooklyn Academy of Science and the Environment (BASE), won first prize in the high-school age bracket and grand prize overall from iScienceProject, a national science competition established to involve students (K-12) and teachers in projects that stimulate interest in science. The students captured the coveted grand prize title for their project titled "Thermogenic Temperature Measurements of Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) Spadicies and Magnolia (Magnolia x loebneri 'Merrill') Flowers." Ms. Dixon and Ms. Dolma are enrolled in a new program at BBG that allows high school students to work with scientists from the Garden on challenging research projects.
The objective of their study was to determine if skunk cabbage and magnolia trees in North America are thermogenic (i.e. produce their own heat), and—if they are thermogenic—to study the heating pattern. The students hypothesized that these plants are thermogenic, in order to help volatize and disperse odors to attract pollinators, and also as protection from frost. Using very fine and sensitive temperature sensors to measure the floral temperature of the two plants thought to be thermogenic, Ms. Dixon and Ms. Dolma recorded temperature measurements of a skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidusi) and magnolia (Magnolia × loebneri 'Merrill') at Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
Their results indicated that the skunk cabbage did produce heat, and they found that the female inflorescences of the skunk cabbage produced more heat than the male. The results of the magnolia flower study showed no difference between the ambient air and the temperature of the flower. The students theorized that no heat was detected either because the magnolia they studied is a temperate, hybrid species that does not produce heat, or its flowers were not at the female stage, during which most heat is produced. In addition, due to climate variation over the study, cold weather and snow may have also affected the flowers.
Both Ms. Dixon and Ms. Dolma hope to enter pre-medicine programs in college after graduating from Brooklyn Academy of Science and the Environment. Launched in September 2003, BASE is a New Century High School developed by Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Prospect Park Alliance in collaboration with New York City Department of Education and New Visions for Public Schools. BASE was developed to take full advantage of the extensive natural and educational resources of BBG and PPA.