October 2022 Visit
Experiment Leads: Clara and Elizabeth
Have you ever wondered why some people have blue eyes while other people have brown? Or about what makes a living thing living? Well, if you’re anything like the kids at Anderson middle school you definitely have. Luckily, SfA was able to stop by for a visit to answer all of their important questions about the building blocks of life.
At our most recent visit to Anderson middle, we discussed how DNA is the foundation for all living things. We explained how DNA is like the “recipe” for life and is responsible for determining our genetic traits and characteristic. We provided the students with a series of real-life examples demonstrating how differences in our DNA are responsible for how we look (e.g. your DNA determined whether you are short or tall). We also emphasized that all living things have DNA and did an exercise where we compared and contrasted examples of living and non-living things to solidify students' understanding of this concept.
After spending time discussing DNA, we decided it was time for the students to see it for themselves! Each student extracted the DNA of a strawberry by mixing a mushed-up strawberry with a special DNA extract liquid (a combination of soap and salt). Throughout the experiment
we had SfA members talk with each student about what they observed in the extraction process. We also focused on honing the students' scientific thinking by asking the students to explain the reasoning behind each step of the DNA extraction procedure. All in all, the students
at Anderson middle school were able to learn something about DNA while having fun performing a hands-on experiment.
You can learn more about how to do this experiment yourself by checking out our DNA extraction guide on the Do It Yourself page.