Washington University in Saint Louis has a history of volunteer activities at The Youth Learning Center (YLC) in the Central West End in Saint Louis. Many WashU students function as volunteer mentors, tutors, or assistants at the YLC. This year's WashU iGEM team will be traveling to the YLC to give a demonstration, lesson, experiment, and survey to a group of 6th through 8th graders.
We will begin with a survey to gain preliminary knowledge of the kids' general understanding of genetic engineering, its pros and cons, and their interest in the study of the sciences.
The survey will be followed with a PowerPoint presentation (LINK HERE) complete with videos and useful information to keep the children engaged while providing them with an understanding of concepts about DNA and basic genetic engineering. A prezi containing most of the powerpoint to be shown can be found below.
In the lesson, we hope to enhance the knowledge of the children by exposing them to topics that are not found in the normal 6th to 8th grade curriculum. We will first give a brief introduction into the cell and DNA to set up for a talk about what genetic engineering is. We want to discuss biology in a pleasant and active environment with fun, interesting facts and interactive questions along the way as we introduce topics. We will talk about how DNA holds a code for the formation of proteins that do the jobs of the cell, how the DNA in humans is very similar to many other organisms' DNA and the universal codon code, and ask questions along the way.
We will then cover case studies of genetic engineering research to shed realistic light on the apparent unlimited potential of genetic engineering. Our cases will include: biofuels, frangranes, insulin production, and GMO crops. After viewing the cases, we will have groups of students brainstorm in a poster board activity in which they will invent genetically engineered creations that can be as fantastical as the Mockingjay in The Hunger Games".
Overview Lesson Experiment Parts Future Work
YLC on Prezi
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