STEM Lessons & Enrichment Activities
This page lists excellent resources to help teachers and informal educators plan lessons and/or hands-on instruction for students. These are the same resources I use when I visit schools, museums and other youth organizations to teach hands-on STEM lessons. For a list of more informal, self-directed science enrichment activities that students can do on their own outside of school, visit the Self-Guided STEM Enrichment Activities page.
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Life Science
DNA Model
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a type of macromolecule found in cells. It is made up of three types of smaller molecules: sugar molecules (ribose), phosphate molecules, and four types of nitrogenous bases (A, G,T, and C). The nitrogenous bases are lined up in a specific order that is responsible for providing the instructions to cells for how to build proteins, which are the workers and building blocks of cells. Parents pass their DNA down to their kids, which means we inherit the instructions for how our cells function from our parents. The study of how inherited characteristics are passed down from parent to offspring is called genetics. In this activity, you will build a model of a segment of DNA out of candy in order to learn more about the molecular structure of DNA.
DNA Extraction Strawberries provide an excellent source of DNA because they are octoploidy, they have eight sets of DNA so it is easy to extract a lot of it. DNA extraction is accomplished by using a detergent to break open the membrane of cells to release their DNA, straining out the solids from the juice, and then causing the DNA to precipitate out of the juice using alcohol.
DNA Fingerprinting & Gel Electrophoresis Gel electrophoresis is a technique used to separate fragments of DNA according to their size. This is useful because it can be used to determine if a sample of DNA from an unknown source matches a known source. For example, forensic scientists use gel electrophoresis to compare DNA samples from a crime scene to a known samples from victims or suspects. This is called DNA fingerprinting.
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