Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

My 3rd grade daughter wants to do this science project to extract
DNA from strawberries. I was thinking of buying her a kid microscope
kit for less than $50 on Amazon.

Question is when putting the DNA under the microscope
would she be able to see the strands, etc (sorry don't know much about
DNA science)?

Should I buy her the microscope for this project?

Thanks

Hi Kevin,

Welcome to science buddies!

I think you are planning to do this excellent project:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... #procedure

The extracted DNA will appear as visible strands so you don't need to buy a microscope. You might want to get an inexpensive magnifying glass as this would help make the strands appear a little larger, but don't spend $50 for this project.

I recommend checking with your daughter's teacher to see if an experimental science project is required. The DNA project, as written, is more of a demonstration, and the teacher might be expected a controlled experiment, with measurable results that can be graphed. If so, you might want to have your daughter check out the topic selection wizard on the website and select an experimental project.

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... deas.shtml

Please let us know if you have any other questions.


Donna