On Thursday 24 May, the Porterhouse Medical STEM Ambassadors took part in their first STEM activity. Porterhouse was one of nearly 30 companies to exhibit at the Evendons Primary School STEM Fair in Wokingham, a fair that was attended by numerous primary schools from the Wokingham area.
Porterhouse ran a stall about DNA and genetics, which involved activities that introduced the students to the biological drivers that made them who they are. These activities included:
- Making DNA out of sweets – This was a firm favourite of children of all ages! It was a really fun way to show the students the structure of DNA, and they got to eat the sweets at the end!
- Creating a dog out of DNA code – The students loved cracking their ‘DNA codes’ to find out what their dogs would look like. This activity introduced the students to the idea that physical attributes are decided by DNA, and they loved seeing the variety of dogs the activity produced.
- Building a genetics tree – Each student filled in their own leaf, indicating whether or not they could roll their tongue, if they had a widow’s peak and whether their ear lobes were attached or free. By the end of the day, the tree was full of leaves and showed the genetic diversity of the children of Wokingham.
Our first STEM activity was a great success, and we look forward to taking part in another event soon!
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