A R O U N D C A M P U S
Fifth Graders at the DNA Learning Center
Otzi the Iceman ... The mystery of Anastasia ... genetic mutations of a fruit fly . All of these were explored by our fifth graders during a full-day field trip to the DNA Learning Center in Cold Spring Harbor . The school partners with the DNALC for a hands-on unit on genetics . ( Photo selected by Headmaster for a Day Thomas DePaolo )
Ant DNA
In the final month of our Eighth Grade science course , boys conducted hands-on work with DNA , genetics , and biodiversity — all in collaboration with educators and scientists from the Cold Spring Harbor DNA Learning Center . Boys used a technique called “ DNA barcoding .” They isolated DNA from an ant specimen that they collected in Central Park and used PCR reactions to target a particular gene and make millions of copies of just that one section of DNA . The PCR products were sent to an offsite genetics lab where the DNA for that one gene was sequenced . The boys received the genomic data and , using bioinformatics software , compared that information against millions of known sequences for that gene , to identify the species of their sample ant .
The Buzz
All was a-buzz on May 4 , 2022 , when beekeepers from Smoke & Honey Co . visited Saint David ’ s to conduct workshops with the boys in Kindergarten , Second and Fifth Grades . The boys observed live bees , contained within a sealed environment , conducted a pollination game , and discussed tools and techniques that beekeepers use to maintain hives . The visits corresponded with the boys ’ learning in science .
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