Genetic Disease Symposium

Complete a variety of activities to examine the pros and cons and ethical issues behind genetic testing. Your high school learners will role play and examine various scenarios to determine if genetic testing is justified.

Harness young scientists' knowledge of genetics with an engaging science activity. Students start by flipping a coin to determine the genotypes and phenotypes of two parent monsters, before using Punnett squares to...

Disease prevention or designer babies? Use a set of slides to introduce the growing practice of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD. Teens read related articles and then break into groups to address different scenarios. Afterward,...

Can we find the phenotypes and genotypes of magical ability for the characters in Harry Potter? Of course, but first we need to understand incomplete or blended dominance, co-dominance, multiple alleles, and regulatory genes. This...

Explore the complexities of reproductive genetic testing respectfully in the learning space. Scientists read articles, view a slideshow, and complete a do-now about genetic technologies. A fishbowl activity allows scholars to discuss the...

Find out the science behind ancestry testing! Investigators watch a video exploring how ancestry works before participating in a hands-on group activity. Scholars role play scientists while learning about testing protocols and test...

Through a five-lesson series with five hands-on activities, students are introduced to six simple machines - inclined plane, wedge, screw, lever, pulley, wheel-and-axle - as well as compound machines, which are combinations of two or...

Young scientists explore Gregor Mendel's work on pea plants, his laws of segregation and independent assortment. They work through genetic problems and then finish by looking at Huntington's disease and genetic testing. 

In this genetic ethics learning exercise, students are given ten ethical questions regarding genetic defects, the possibility of gene therapy, test tube babies and creating a national DNA database. Students are given three choices for...

Students examine six simple machines and investigate who Rube Goldberg is. They explore various websites, write an article, write ten interesting facts about Rube Goldberg, and design and construct a simple machine.