Girl Scouts to extract strawberry DNA at UW-Madison workshops

A group of 48 middle school-aged Girl Scouts will learn how to extract DNA from strawberries during two “Biochemistry in the Kitchen” science outreach events, one on Saturday, Jan. 8 and one on Saturday, Jan. 15.

The hands-on workshops will be led by graduate students and postdoctoral fellows involved in the UW–Madison Integrated Program in Biochemistry Student-Faculty Liaison Committee.

Starting with thawed strawberries, the scouts will mash up a handful of berries in a plastic bag, and then add a solution of salt water and dish detergent to extract the DNA from the mush. From there, it’s just a matter of adding some rubbing alcohol to precipitate out the DNA, which will be clearly visible.

“The DNA looks like tiny, clear spaghetti. They’ll get to take it home with them in a tube, and it’s totally safe. They eat strawberries, of course, and it’s in there,” says Jordan Burke, a biochemistry graduate student who helped organize the workshops.

The girls, who hail from a number of troops in and around the Madison area, will also break up into small groups to “race” various brightly colored dyes on agarose gels. Gels are a common laboratory tool used to separate compounds based on size and electric charge.

Participating Girl Scouts will receive a science badge for the experience, a mark of accomplishment that members of the Integrated Program in Biochemistry Student-Faculty Liaison Committee hope they can bestow on many others.

“We had an overwhelming response,” says Burke. “We hope to repeat this program with other groups.”

The workshops will be held on Jan. 8 and Jan. 15. Both sessions will run from 1 — 4 p.m. in the UW–Madison Genetics-Biotechnology Center, 425 Henry Mall, in room 1330. There will be 24 Girl Scouts at each session.

On Saturdays free parking is available in Lot 20, located at 1390 University Avenue.

For more information, contact Jordan Burke, (608) 263-4081 x2121, halsig@wisc.edu.