Posted on: Saturday, October 5, 2002

Bishop Museum opening exhibition on 'Genetics!'

Advertiser Staff

"Genetics!" at the Bishop Museum's Castle Hall takes visitors into the microscopic world of cells, DNA and all things related to the study of heredity. Bishop Museum . . . 'Genetics!' • 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily through Jan. 5 • Bishop Museum • $14.95 general, $11.95 for children 4-12, seniors and military; children younger than 6 and museum members admitted free; kama'aina rates available • 847-3511

Green glowing mice, a recipe for cloned sheep and Gregor Mendel's rules of mini-golf? Exactly what is going on at the Bishop Museum these days?

Genetics, that's what. Or, to be more precise, "Genetics!" — a new traveling exhibit designed to make the fascinating, if complex, world of genetics accessible.

The exhibit, created by the Pacific Science Center, opens today at the museum's Castle Hall. It will be on display through Jan. 5.

"Genetics is a topic that you hear about all the time in the news, yet most people don't know a lot about it," said project manager Michael Shanahan.

"All we are is genetics: It determines the color of our eyes and whether our hair is straight or curly," Shanahan said. "Yet it's a topic that's challenging or even daunting to people when they first read about it or see it on television. This exhibit helps to demystify it a little."

The visual centerpiece of the exhibit is an enormous replica of a DNA double helix. Attractions include "Mendel's Mini-Golf," which allows visitors to reproduce Mendel's famous pea experiment, a milestone in the science of hybridization, using a pea pod-shaped putter to sink a ball into one of three holes.

Other highlights include the "Trait Walk," where visitors walk through a progression of circles determined by their individual traits; a walk-in cell model; and "Clone-a-Sheep," which traces the steps that created the famous cloned sheep Dolly.

Also the University of Hawai'i's world-famous cloned and green glowing mice will make daily appearances. The mice were developed by the UH Institute of Biogenesis. The green glowing mice were produced by combining DNA from jellyfish with mouse DNA. The mice will be displayed for 30 minutes at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. each day.