District News

Students at John A. Sciole Elementary School took their science learning into their own hands as they extracted DNA from a strawberry. “Every cell you have, there is this molecule called DNA," said Jeff Dudziak, a scientist from Thermo Fisher Scientific who led a group of volunteers from the company during the classroom experience. "That is responsible for giving all the code that tells your body how to make you."

Students first mashed a bagged strawberry before adding a mixture of dish soap and salt water to open the cells. The mixture was then filtered to remove larger materials before being placed in a test tube. Isopropyl alcohol was then added, allowing a layer of DNA to become visible and extractable using a stirrer. “Getting to do something hands-on, it’s something that gets them excited,” said Monica Ferreri, a third grade teacher. Other third grade classes completing the activity included the rooms of teachers Karly Chase, Lianne Oskvig, Jessica Losel, and Wendy Chapman. 

Mr. Dudziak, a parent of a second grade student in the school, said he hoped the activity would make students more interested in their science curriculum.“When they get to the end and see the experiment works, they are really excited,” he said.

The May 30 lesson came as students learned about the traits that are inherited in animals through their parents, using butterflies as examples. After completing the strawberry activity, students then took the butterflies they had been raising in their classrooms to be released outside the school building.

Video from the activity can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKnyo0Ko88g.