CPLC engages local high school students during "DNA Day"
4/29/2016
The CPLC welcomed local middle and high school students from Urbana and Champaign schools to the University of Illinois to participate in DNA themed experiments on April 29, 2016. I-STEM, the University of Illinois STEM Education Initiative, organized a field trip entitled, "DNA Applications: Interdisciplinary Perspectives for STEM Careers," or, in short, "DNA Day." CPLC postdoctoral fellow Caitlin Davis provided students with a detailed introduction to DNA, preparing the students for a laboratory experience, including hands-on activities that outlined the isolation of and structural discovery of DNA. Participants isolated DNA, used lasers to simulate Rosalind Franklin's famous X-ray diffraction experiment, and modeled the supercoiling of DNA.