Wednesday 16 December 2020 12:24pm
Students at Maori Hill and Fairfield schools were treated to some bonus biochemistry lessons in the past few weeks.
Otago Biochemistry volunteers introduced the children to the world of living molecules, showing them how to extract DNA from peas, make 'elephant toothpaste' foam from yeast and hydrogen peroxide, decode a gene to make a protein, and build models of molecules you can find inside cells.
It was also an excellent opportunity for some of our researchers to practice explaining their science to some bright, curious young minds from years 5 to 7.
Thanks to Jenni Palmer, Tom Chin, Anu Das, Annika Bokor, Sol Perez-Santangelo, Ben Peters, Jordon Lima, and Miriam Sharpe for your help and hard work, and to Maori Hill and Fairfield schools for giving us such a warm welcome.
Below are some photos of the children and biochemists hard at work:
Year 7 students decoding a gene to make a protein at Fairfield School.
Jordon explaining how to extract pea DNA at Maori Hill School.
Tom showing how to make elephant toothpaste at Maori Hill School.
Maori Hill School students building models of molecules.
Ben leading Fairfield School students through molecule model building.
Fairfield school students showing off their foam creation skills.