Schools see DNA in a new way
Biologist Dr. Adam Hott visited Liberty Middle April 24 to see how the students and teachers put together the DNA walk at their school with the information provided by HudsonAlpha.
BY ANNA DURRETT / REPORTER
Liberty and Discovery middle schools and Madison County High School took part in a DNA walk and a GenomeCache exercise during April and May created by The HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville. “They’ve been engaged at a very high level,” said Liberty principle Dr. Brian Clayton of his students’ experiences with the DNA activity.
The DNA walk is a physical representation of the human genome that includes information on more than 150 genes. Biologist Dr. Adam Hott, coordinator of educational outreach at HudsonAlpha, said the genes picked for the activity are significant to “human disease or human endeavors.” The GenomeCache app is a free educational tool that together with the DNA walk creates a genomic scavenger hunt.
Hott visited Liberty Middle April 24 to see how the students and teachers put together the DNA walk at their school with the information provided by HudsonAlpha. Hott said his institute’s role in Liberty’s event was “making it available and offering assistance. We’ve run some technical support and also some moral support.”
The DNA walk and GenomeCache brought students out of their classrooms and into the halls to actively search for answers. “It’s very creative,” said Liberty student Brittney Bennich. “I like working with my hands and figuring out the clues. I’m very into biology and science classes here.”
“The GenomeCache was set up to help students and teachers both learn more about the human genome, said Liberty science teacher Sarah Lowman. “The signs on the wall have to match the clue number to what the iPad is asking. When they get a correct response they get points.
More than 2,500 students at 10 locations across Alabama participated in the activities created by HudsonAlpha. Schools that do not have accesses to devices the app runs on can print out the materials and essentially do the same activity.
HudsonAlpha has a permanent outdoor DNA walk at the Cummings Research Park Biotech Campus. Hott said the walk is “not only a beautiful place to be, but also educational.” More information about HudsonAlpha can be found at hudsonalpha.org.
