For our December visit, Maggie and Geetha presented on the topic of DNA and the origins of genetic mutations. The lesson began with a presentation that detailed the important aspects of DNA function and how errors in the genetic process can lead to mutations, which are not always necessarily bad news! Maggie used a simple and effective example of how individual blocks of Lego are put together to make an entire Lego city to explain how DNA is used to make amino acids, which are then used to make proteins that are later assembled to form tissue. To show that genetic mutations are more common than one thinks, we showed how dogs can come in drastically different sizes and how corn can be multicolored! We also incorporated the class's emphasis on the environment by showing how climate change and its effects have enabled some species to thrive because of their mutations. To further illustrate the concept of mutations and how their effects can cascade, the class was divided into teams to play a game of telephone Pictionary which they all really enjoyed.
For the hands-on portion of the lesson, we extracted actual DNA from fresh strawberries using a simple procedure! Students had a great time mashing the strawberries and finally looking at what the strawberry DNA, which actually closely resembles our own DNA, looked like!
