New Perspectives in Science Education

Every small movement of the human body requires a complex interaction of an ensemble of muscles, bones, and joints. Questions about how our body functions have occupied researchers for hundreds of years. Nowadays we know a lot about our body, its composition and chemical reactions which make it function the way we are used to. Understanding our body is not only a naturally aspired goal and motivating learning context but it is the key to networked scientific thinking, linking various scientific fields and it is an investment in our own health and future.

With society in the 21^st century facing new health problems like sitting too much, spending free time in front of screens, moving less, or avoiding animal products for nourishment come consequences for the human body, especially regarding the musculoskeletal system, e.g., because of bad posture or protein and mineral balance. Not only can muscle atrophy, osteoporosis, or gout cause health damage over years but balanced nutrients provide for muscle growth, strengthened bones and overall being healthy.

Especially children and adolescents, who in majority miss the daily aim of 60 minutes of physical activity recommended by the WHO [1], therefore need to be better informed about their own physical needs and healthy lifestyles. Not only is this a context of learning with great importance for everyday life but scientific details in this complex offer great learning opportunities on the interface of health care, medicine, pharmaceutical science and organic as well as inorganic chemistry. Discussing calcium phosphate and other mineral salts provides a connection to classical curricular content of chemistry education even for younger students while other important aspects of the musculoskeletal system like collagen, proteins, vitamins or nervous stimulation transfer and energy resources are interesting topics for advanced level students. It is proven that medical aspects have motivating effects particularly on young women and provide the opportunity to arouse enthusiasm for choosing possible careers in natural sciences [2].

In this article, we present an experimental approach on how basic principles concerning the musculoskeletal system can be made accessible for different levels of chemistry education and school laboratories through didactic reconstruction. Based on a simple set of experiments concerning bone structure [3], hydroxyapatite and gelatin are tested for creating an artificial bone-like structure. The resulting composites are examined regarding their characteristics.