Class Visits to the Broad Institute
When students come for a class visit to the Broad Institute, there are five main categories of activities in which they can participate, listed below in our activities menu. When a teacher plans a class visit with our staff, we will work together to decide which one, two, or three of these activities to do with his/her students when they come. The selection will be based on length of visit, number of students, and curriculum goals.
1. Lab-based activities:
- Extracting genomic DNA
- Digesting DNA with restriction enzymes
- Using genotyping to solve a baby identity mix-up
- Transformation of plasmid DNA into bacteria
- PCR and gel electrophoresis
- Classifying bacteria by appearance versus DNA sequence
- An introduction to model organisms
- An introduction to C. elegans (roundworm) genetics
- Basic microbiology techniques
- Purifying plasmid DNA from bacteria
- Pipetting Olympics
- Classification of animals by appearance versus genome sequence
- Types of mutations in DNA and protein sequences
- Antibiotic resistance
- Separating proteins by size
2. Computer-based activities:
- Using database searches to analyze DNA and protein sequences
- A protein viewer program to look at 3D structures of DNA and proteins
- On-line programs to investigate function and conservation of sequences
- Software to analyze microarray data and help diagnose cancers
3. Group discussions:
- Scientist/student interaction sessions
- Careers in biology
- Bioethical issues
4. Paper-based activities:
- Karyotyping: Analyzing the chromosomes of normal and cancer cells
- Making phylogenetic trees using physical characteristics and DNA sequences
- Analyzing cellular characteristics by imaging to identify new cancer genes
- How microarrays work and could be used to diagnose cancer
- Population Genetics: Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium
- DNA replication, transcription, and splicing
- Transcription and translation – deciphering the code
- Restriction enzyme digests
- Identifying a sequence change that causes a human disease
- The DNA sequencing reaction
- How DNA is organized into chromatin
- Chemical biology: discovering a compound of interest
5. Tours of the Institute:
- Tours of the Chemical Biology, Genetic Analysis, and Cancer labs
- Tours of the genome sequencing center
- Visits with the interactive exhibits in the Broad Museum
Paragraph-long descriptions of each of these activities are available by request and at our Teacher Forums.
For the descriptions of these activities, contact:
Vivian Siegel
Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
7 Cambridge Center
Cambridge, MA 02142
vsiegel@broadinstitute.org
