All posts by Cobequid Educational Centre

Fall 2015

We learned how to extract DNA too!

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Yesterday we did a lab where we learned how to extract DNA from strawberries. First we mashed up the strawberries.

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We added an extraction buffer (soapy, salty water) and mashed it up some more.  Then we filtered the juice into a cup.

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We used a pipette to add the strawberry juice to a test tube filled with ice cold ethanol.  We inverted the tube once to mix the juice with the ethanol. We could see the DNA separate from the juice. It rose to the top of the test tube and looked like a white slimy blob.

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We rubbed a glass rod on a t-shirt to give it a charge and we used the glass rod to “spool” the DNA out of the test tube.

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Fall 2015, Secondary Schools

Cobequid Educational Centre – Malaise Trap Practice

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Yesterday we looked for a good location for our Malaise Trap.  We found a good location at the corner of the soccer field.  We thought this was the best location because there are trees nearby, it is a fenced area, the grass is short, it is an area that gets a lot of sun, there are flowers nearby, and it is on level ground.  We noticed that there are a lot of bugs/insects in the area already.

Today we practiced putting up the Malaise Trap.   We feel that this was a good team-building exercise.  On Monday we should be able to set the trap up pretty easily.

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Grade 10 Science students

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Grade 12 Science students