HudsonAlpha educational outreach is dedicated to providing students in middle and high school hands-on laboratory activities that use the modern tools of biotechnology. In this effort, we are pleased to partner with Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI) and Alabama Science in Motion (ASIM).
At the middle school level, a learning module has been created for the 7th-grade curriculum. This module aims to provide students with an integrated understanding of DNA, its role in coordinating the activities of the cell and its relationship to health and disease. Along the way, students are also introduced to the connection between DNA and certain aspects of biotechnology, particularly as they relate to diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to genetic disease. Various careers associated with genetics and biotechnology are highlighted as well, providing students with the opportunity to further explore this rapidly growing field.
At the high school level, five independent laboratory kits have been developed or are currently in the development stage. These activities focus some of the modern technologies and techniques used in the biotechnology field today such as PCR, micropipetting, bioinformatics, DNA extraction, karyotyping and molecular diagnostics.
We have developed an expansive set of resources for each of the educational kits accessible using the drop menus below. Each kit has multiple sections useful for both students and teachers.