Jr. BIOTECH: Biotechnology for Middle School Students

Thanks to a gift from the Helios Education Foundation, the BIOTECH Project now supports middle school science teachers and students! Launched in October 2009, Jr. BIOTECH provides teacher training, curricula, classroom kits, and in-classroom support for middle school classrooms in Arizona. Through an exciting state partnership, Jr. BIOTECH supports bioscience education in three regions of the state- Southern Arizona (Tucson), Western Arizona (Yuma) and Northern Arizona (Flagstaff).

Meet our Partners!
Yuma:

Flagstaff:

Biotechnology Activities for Middle School students

Kiwi DNA Extraction:  How do you purify DNA from cells?  Students extract DNA from kiwifruit to learn about the chemical and physical properties of DNA.  This activity provides a first-hand understanding of how DNA can be isolated for further analysis, such as DNA fingerprinting.  Students also reinforce their understanding of cell structure and biological macromolecules.  We use a kiwifruit protocol because it uses commonplace materials and requires little equipment. [45 minutes] [Student Guide] [Teacher Guide]

DNA Fingerprinting:  How is DNA evidence prepared and analyzed in a crime scene?  Students perform agarose gel electrophoresis to analyze DNA (dye simulation) samples from a mock crime scene.  Based on DNA fingerprinting profiles with dyes simulated to represent the DNA a comparison is made to the crime scene, students determine which suspect likely committed the crime.  This activity helps students understand how DNA variation in individuals can be analyzed in practical applications such as genetic testing and forensics.  [50 minutes to introduce electrophoresis and practice pipetting, 50 minutes to run gels, partial next day to analyze results]

Some examples:

Cootie Genetics:  In this activity students will simulate the work of Gregor Mendel to investigate how traits are inherited.  Mate organisms with different true bredding traits and determine what happens.  Figure out which traits are dominant, recessive, and what probability an offspring will have of getting a certain trait and have fun doing it.  This lesson should be introduced before DNA and Punnett Squares. [Three to four 50 minute class periods]  ** Please contact Nadja Anderson, BIOTECH Project Director (nadja@email.arizona.edu) for cootie information and activities.

Disease Detection:  Students will simulate the outbreak of a viral disease in the classroom starting with one individual that is infected.  They will analyze the classroom data to determine the original carrier of the virus and examine how transmitted diseases spread in the population. [50 minutes] [Student Guide] [Teacher Guide]