Science - Strawberry DNA

Date: 28th Jun 2023 @ 4:05pm

Our super scientists in Year 5 have been using a few household items to extract DNA from strawberries.

To support our work of how science can help solves crimes, the children first generated questions on DNA and then researched and presented their findings.  

Cells are the basic unit of life and make up all plants, animals and bacteria. Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is the molecule that controls everything that happens in
the cell.

We created a DNA extraction liquid and poured it into the bag with the strawberries; this broke open the cells. The children enjoyed the next stage - resealing the bag and gently squashing the strawberries.  We poured an equal amount of rubbing alcohol into the strawberry mixture, and within a few seconds, a white, cloudy substance (DNA) developed - that was our scientists isolating the DNA from the rest of the materials contained in the cells of the strawberry.

The children worked efficiently and carefully - only a small amount of strawberry mixture ended up on the floor.