Extract Strawberry DNA
overview
extract DNA from strawberries. so fun and science-y we love this project! (you can even try this experiment with your saliva, to see your *own* DNA.)
45 minutes
maker checklist
- 4 ripe strawberries
- large cup or jar
- square of cheese cloth
- small plastic bowl
- craft stick for stirring
- teaspoon for measuring
- 1/3 cups water
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp blue Dawn dish soap
- 2 tsp rubbing alcohol
- funnel
- test tube
- pipette
- small wooden skewer
instructions
1
the day before…. remember to get strawberries! chill your rubbing alcohol in the fridge.
2
mix together the dish soap, water and salt in a small bowl and set aside. this is your extraction liquid.
3
trim your strawberries and put them in a sealable plastic baggie. squeeze them with your hands until the strawberries are all mashed up.
4
add three tablespoons of the extraction liquid to the strawberries in the bag. re-seal the bag, and gently squeeze until combined.
5
line the funnel with cheesecloth and set it over the double cups. pour the strawberry mixture in; let sit. the liquid will drip through.
6
pour this liquid into a test tube so that it comes about 1- to 2-inches high.
7
using a pipette, carefully add an equal amount of the chilled rubbing alcohol to the test tube.
add it slowly so that it trickles in!
8
let the mixture sit, and watch as the strawberry’s DNA rises up out of the red mixture and into the clear alcohol. cool!
9
dip the wooden skewer into the solution and catch some of the gooey white stuff. this is the DNA!
