The Center for Applied Plant Sciences (CAPS) and the Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center (ABRC) are proud to participate in this year’s Fascination of Plants Day and the Botany Live initiative as a way to get people excited about the amazing world of plants. Botany Live will feature live-stream videos from across the world highlighting the work of scientists, science communicators and educators who are excited to showcase some of the things that make plants so fascinating. Live-streaming for this event will take place Thursday, May 18^th – Sunday, May 20^th via the free app Periscope. Details are available at the Botany Live website.

CAPS and ABRC are planning to broadcast four live-streaming sessions. For details about each session, see the information included below.

All about Arabidopsis: A tour of the ABRC seed facilities                                                                                                                                                                                    

Thursday, May 18th, 11:30 a.m. (approximately 10 minutes) - Learn more about Arabidopsis, an important model system for plant research, with the Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center (ABRC) at The Ohio State University. Curator Chris Calhoun will lead viewers on a tour of the ABRC seed facilities and explain how ABRC processes, stores and distributes seeds from thousands of different strains of Arabidopsis. 

Discovering DNA: A tour of the ABRC DNA laboratory                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Thursday, May 19th, 1:00 p.m. (approximately 5 minutes) - Get a behind the scenes look at the Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center’s (ABRC) DNA laboratory at The Ohio State University. Join Research Associate Benson Lindsey as he provides a virtual tour - explaining how ABRC collects, replicates and preserves DNA resources for researchers around the globe, and shows off the DNA robot!

Exploring maize with Dr. Erich Grotewold                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Friday, May 19th, 10:00 a.m. (approximately 5 minutes) - We will go live from the greenhouse in the Biotech Support Facility at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Erich Grotewold will discuss his lab’s work to improve the nutritional value of maize, and the positive implications this work could have on human and livestock health. 

Celebrating plants at the OSU West Campus Science & Technology Festival                                                                                                                                                              

Saturday, May 20th, 9:45 a.m. (approximately 5 minutes) - Join the Center for Applied Plant Sciences and the Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center as we celebrate plants at The Ohio State University’s West Campus Science & Technology Festival. Get a sneak peek of the event and discover how to extract DNA from applesauce using household supplies. 

And don’t forget to join us as we celebrate Fascination of Plants Day as a part of the OSU West Campus Science & Technology Festival on Saturday, May 20^th from 10:00-2:00 p.m.!