Iowa’s newest biotechnology classroom will be on wheels — 18 wheels, to be precise.

By late this year, officials hope that a custom-built semitrailer equipped with state-of-the-art scientific equipment and staffed by scientists will be ready to visit Central Iowa schools. The Science Education Mobile Instruction laboratory, also known as Project SEMI, is an effort to increase Iowa students’ interest in biotechnology careers. It’s funded through a $287,000 grant from the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust of Muscatine, and administered by Heartland Area Education Agency 11 in Johnston, with support from higher education institutions and biotech companies.

When parked, the trailer’s sides will extend to create a lab space of more than 800 square feet, enough to accommodate 21 students at a time. Inside, students will be guided by a working scientist through experiments such as extracting DNA from corn plants, using costly equipment that most school districts can only dream of buying.

“Students will be able to experience real-world life science concepts in a state-of-the-art laboratory right at their schools,” said Wayne Rand, chief administrator at Heartland AEA, which serves 55 school districts in 11 Central Iowa counties. “This is an exciting project to increase student achievement in science and help students learn about and train for careers in biotechnology and the life sciences.”

Organizations supporting the project include Des Moines Area Community College, which will provide the the truck and a driver; Kemin Industries Inc., Iowa Workforce Development, Integrated DNA Technologies Inc. of Coralville, Monsanto Co., Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., Iowa State University, University of Iowa, Drake University, the World Food Prize Foundation and the Science Center of Iowa.

Science educators and scientists on loan from these organizations will staff the mobile lab to work with local teachers. The project will also offer science teachers ongoing professional development classes and workshops while the trailer is parked in their communities. School districts will pay a fee of approximately $100 per visit to cover the cost of supplies used.

Iowa will join five other states that already offer their students similar mobile labs, said Jim Verlengia, Heartland AEA’s director of cooperative services and external partnerships. However, having a working scientist or two on board is unique, he said.

“What separates this mobile lab from the others is that students will have an opportunity to work elbow to elbow with a scientist from an Iowa company, college or university, or perhaps with an international scientist from the World Food Prize,” Verlengia said.

The program has been in the planning stages for the past two years. “To be honest with you, we began by thinking in terms of bricks and mortar,” he said. “By working with John Greaves (president of Kemin Americas Inc. in Des Moines), it grew into the idea of a mobile lab.”

An estimated $100,000 in furnishings and equipment will be needed to outfit the trailer, which primarily is expected to come from in-kind contributions from the participating companies, Verlengia said. The Heartland AEA’s board is expected to approve the company that will convert the trailer within the next week.

The mobile lab is expected to reach from 30 to 35 school districts each year, and be used by more than 14,000 students in both public and accredited private schools. Officials hope it will be the first of several mobile labs.

“We hope in all honesty that this is just a pilot and that it can be duplicated for all kids in Iowa,” Verlengia said.

A regional service system

Iowa Area Education Agencies provide school improvement services to students, families, teachers, administrators and communities in their designated regions..

Heartland AEA 11 covers 11 counties in Central Iowa, serving 125,000 students, or about one-fourth the state’s student population.

The state’s AEAs work as educational partners with public and accredited private schools. As intermediate agencies, AEAs offer the kinds of services that can be most efficiently and economically provided on a regional or cooperative basis among school districts. The Iowa system is widely regarded as one of the foremost regional service systems in the country.

AEA programs and services fall into nine areas:

* School-Community Planning

* Professional Development

* Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment

* Diverse Learning Needs

* Multicultural, Gender-Fair

* Media

* School Technology

* Leadership

* Management