National STEM / STEAM Day is November 8th!

November 8th is National STEM/STEAM Day and it’s never been more important! This unofficial national day celebrates the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics and encourages taking an interdisciplinary approach and introducing these fields to children beginning at a young age. STEM and STEAM have been trending buzzwords for years and existing and emerging fields require the skills that STEM and STEAM foster including experimentation, critical thinking, problem solving, and experience with the scientific method. Encourage the next generation of innovators in your biotechnology classroom!

Edvotek STEM & STEAM Kits

Linking STEM to Agarose Gel Electrophoresis – Link important STEM concepts using Agarose Gel Electrophoresis. Help your students learn about the application of gel electrophoresis in DNA Fingerprinting, DNA Paternity Testing, Genetics (related to health and well-being), and the detection of Genetically Modified Foods. These dyes can be separated in agarose gels and students will use core STEM tools to determine band size and utilize critical thinking and reasoning skills. Four unique module options are supplied.

Effects of Alcohol on C. elegans – You will not believe how similar we are to worms! The genome of the tiny worm, Caenorhabditis elegans, was sequenced and found to be 40% similar to us. It is now used as a model system by researchers to address fundamental questions in developmental biology, neurobiology and behavioral biology. The objective of this experiment is to observe and record the effects of alcohol on normal and alcohol mutant strains of Caenorhabditis elegans.

Principles of Gel Filtration Chromatography – Introduce chromatographic separation to your class and show them how dyes of different colors separate on the basis of their size and shape. This experiment contains materials for dye separation which include dye sample, elution buffer and plastic disposables. Columns may be rinsed and reused.

Pipetting by Numbers: STEAM Pipetting Practice – Help your students master the fundamental biotechnology technique of micropipetting while creating a colorful, science-themed classroom poster as well as their own artwork.

Living Art: Adding STEAM to Transformations – In this experiment, students will harness the color producing power of transformed bacteria to create works of living microbial art.

Agar Art: Creating Masterpieces with Microbes – At the intersection of art, science, and technology is Bio-Art, the creation of works of art using living matter. One common way to create Bio-Art uses bacteria transformed with DNA codes for brightly-colored proteins. In this experiment, students create “Bio-Paints” using bacterial culture techniques. The color-producing microbes are painted onto an agar plate canvas. After incubation will inspect, admire, and hopefully share your living art.