Summer SAVY 2016 (Session 2, Day 1) – Genetics I (Dr. Zeiger)

Posted by hallep on Monday, June 20, 2016 in Grade 3, Grade 4, SAVY.

Welcome to Genetics! It was a great day to get to know our budding geneticists. We spent the morning meeting one another and discussing how scientists think. Students put their observation skills to the test in a mini chemistry experiment!
In the afternoon, students were introduced to our challenge of the week. It seems scientists discovered a new life form called “Creatorius Crazarius” in the amazing Pluto pictures from New Horizons. Our class has been asked to decipher the traits and genes of this amazing creature. Interestingly, this life form spends its winters in the SAVY storage closet!
Being scientists, students started asking insightful questions and realized we needed to learn some genetic basics. A lot of biological terminology was uncovered as students discovered the location of DNA and created cell models to help explain the Creatorius Crazarius to the public. Tomorrow we will figure out what dominates in genetics and visit the Vanderbilt Technologies for Advanced Genomics lab to visualize the tools geneticists use in the real world of science. Wear comfortable shoes and bring an umbrella!

See you tomorrow!

Dr. Zeiger and Ms. Jordyn