Is DNA still present after picking fruit or cooking vegetables? Biology scholars extract and collect DNA strands in an impactful lab. Working groups prepare their samples and compare their results to negative and positive standard...

A pinch of adenine, a dash of thymine and ta-da, you have life! Well, it's not quite that simple, but through this series of activities and experiments young scientists learn about the structure of DNA and how it contains the recipe...

How do reverse transcriptase inhibitors work? Young virologists examine the function of azidothymidine, a drug doctors use to treat HIV patients, during a hands-on modeling activity. Groups create a strand of DNA from an HIV RNA strand...

For scholars tired of reading the textbook, this unit includes nine hands-on lessons. Through group work, lab activities, experiments, and even one inquiry-based lesson, scholars apply knowledge about cells, genetics, and...

Can your biology class crack the Case of the Crown Jewels? Junior forensics experts try their hands at DNA restriction analysis in an exciting lab activity. The lesson introduces the concept of restriction analysis, teaches pipetting and...

Can science put an end to the poaching of endangered species? Show your young forensic experts how biotechnology can help save wildlife through an exciting electrophoresis lab. Grouped pupils analyze shark DNA to determine if it came...

Time for the reveal! The nineth instructional activity of the series of 18 has scholars compare DNA fingerprints of cats to their samples to identify the father of Sparky's kittens from previous lessons. They analyze the DNA bands to...

Find similarities in seemingly unlike organisms. The second instructional activity in a series of 12 builds the concept of a taxonomy and explores the use of a dichotomous key. Learners begin in part one by attempting to group a set of...

Think like an engineer and an agricultural scientist over the course of 12 lessons in a STEM based unit. Young scientists take on the roles of animal physiologists, animal geneticists, agricultural engineers, animal nutritionists,...

DNA is the code for all biological traits, both plant and animal. Using an exploratory lesson, learners begin to explore the concept of a biological code by decoding word puzzles. They then extract DNA from plant cells using detergent to...

Silver: more than jewelry, it's also a natural antimicrobial agent. An inquiry-based lesson asks collaborative groups to design and implement an experiment to test this property. Using samples of silver nanoparticles and a strain of...

It's alive! Turn young biologists into mad scientists with this engaging genetics activity. Using their knowledge of chromosomes and genes, students create dragons with unique sets of traits,...

Genetic analysis has gone to the dogs! Learners use real DNA information collected from dog saliva to study the relationship between genotypes and phenotypes. They analyze alleles to determine correlations to coat color, length, and...

Rotating through five stations, evolutionary biologists explore the question of how changes in DNA facilitate the changes in a population over time. High-quality, colorful cards of animals, skeletons, skulls, and DNA sequences can all be...

An exciting activity has scholars use cell parts to build bacteria through cooperation with other groups. Each group has some of the cell parts needed, but they must trade with other groups to be able to fulfill their function as a...

One of the most striking pieces of evidence for Darwin's Evolution of Species was his observations of finches and how their beaks differed from island to island, depending on their primary food sources. So what would happen to the theory...

Winogradsky columns are ideal for observing the role of bacteria and other microorganisms in an ecosystem. This student activity guide is complete with data tables for observations and analysis questions for processing what was observed....

At one point, all mammals carried only two color receptors, but now most humans carry three. An informative presentation and hands-on activity demonstrate how this evolved through genetics. By participating in the activity, pupils...