Felicia C. Cunningham and Dawn Stuckey, Senior Extension/4-H Agent
Dawn Stuckey and Felicia Cunningham conducted a workshop at Hardeeville Junior & Senior High School in Hardeeville, S.C. Students participated in a Mendelian genetic project where pairs of students worked to understand genetics and genetic crosses. After reviewing the process of mitosis and meiosis, students replicated cell division using paper “genes” to simulate the process of meiosis. As the students re-created each phase of the cell division process, students could see a concrete representation of the process. The project required students to randomly generate the genes from “parents” to create an “offspring.” Students also completed Punnet Squares to learn about the probability of passing a specific gene to the next generation. After discussing the genetic makeup and the physical characteristics of the new “offspring,” students used marshmallows and pipe cleaners to create models of the “offspring.”
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