Medical Biography
Dr. Sara Josephine Baker
Sara Josephine Baker was born in
1873. When Sara was a little girl, she
was adventurous and would sneak out
of the house when the circus came to
town. Sara decided to become a
doctor at the age of 16, after her father
died from typhoid.
Dr. Baker was one of the first doctors
in preventative medicine and public
health. By preventing the spread of
disease and treating healthy people
before they became sick, she saved thousands of lives.
Vernier Technology Lab
Take-Home Activities
Dr. Baker saw problems with some medical practices, and
created inventions to solve those problems. When she
found out that babies were choking to death on their fancy
clothes, she designed simpler, safer baby clothing. When
she noticed that medicine in large bottles was being
contaminated, so she invented small, single dose containers
that solved the problem.
Dr. Baker’s most famous work involved “Typhoid Mary”.
Mary was a cook who carried typhoid, infecting many other
people, even though she wasn’t sick. Dr. Baker isolated
Mary from other people so that others wouldn’t catch the
disease.
To Learn More:
Visit the Tech Lab website at www.omsi.edu/tech for links
to more information and Online Activities!
© 2004 Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
Medical Technology
This project funded by the
National Science Foundation,
Vernier Software & Technology, and Intel
Stethoscope
Listen to the sounds in your body!
Materials Needed:
• Tube from a roll of toilet paper or paper towels
• A friend, family member, or pet
To do and notice:
1. Listen to someone’s heart through their back with just
your ear.
2. Now listen through the cardboard tube. Can you hear the
heart better?
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If you do 10 jumping jacks, does your heart sound
different?
Try listening to a pet’s heart or stomach.
Can you hear breathing through your stethoscope?
Can you design a stethoscope that’s easier to use?
Going further:
Sound waves travel in all directions through
air, liquid, and even solids. You can hear
sounds more clearly through a stethoscope
because the sound waves are forced to
travel in a specific direction: through the
tubing and directly to your ear.
René Laennec invented the first stethoscope in 1819 - it was
an actual paper tube! Over the next hundred years, many
doctors tried different designs until they designed the ones
we use today.
DNA Extraction
Look at your genes!
Materials Needed:
• Liquid dishwashing detergent (transparent) – 1
teaspoon
• Salt - ¼ teaspoon
• Water – 1/2 cup
• Rubbing alcohol (refrigerated) – 1 teaspoon
• 2 glasses, labeled “A” and “B”
To do and notice:
1. Mix 1 teaspoon detergent with 1 tablespoon of water in
glass B, gently so it doesn’t foam. Set aside.
2. Mix ¼ teaspoon of salt and 1/3 cup of water in glass A.
3. Swish the salty water in your mouth to collect your cheek
cells. Swish hard, and scrape your teeth against your
cheeks.
4. Spit the salt water into glass A.
5. Add the soapy water to glass A, and gently stir.
6. Now add 1 teaspoon of alcohol to glass A, gently pouring
down the side of the glass, so the alcohol floats on top.
7. Put glass A in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Cloudy
white DNA should appear.
Going further:
Every cell of every living thing on Earth contains DNA.
In this experiment, the detergent and salt break down the
walls of the cells. Straining the mixture removes the cell
material, leaving only the DNA. The alcohol combines with
the DNA so we can see it.
Scientists use many different tools and chemicals to
manipulate DNA to find out how it works.
© 2004 OMSI