Every living thing on Earth - including you - carries DNA: the instruction manual that tells your body how to grow, move, and survive. Today, you're going to pull real DNA out of a strawberry and actually see it. This is the same technique scientists use in real research labs!

🧪 The Lab Bench (Supplies)

Materials: 2-3 Frozen strawberries, 1/2 cup water, 1 tbsp dish soap, and 1 tsp salt, ¼ cup ice-cold rubbing alcohol (70% or 91%)

Equipment: 1 ziplock bag, 1 medium or large bowl, 1 colander (should nest inside of bowl), 1 circular coffee filter or large paper towel, 2 clear and colorless plastic or glass cups, 2 popsicle sticks

⚠️Safety Check⚠️

• Put on your lab coat and goggles before starting.

• Always wash your hands before and after working in the lab.

• Rubbing alcohol is flammable - keep it away from open flames and any heat source.

🧱 The Lego Challenge

The Goal: Model the "Building Blocks of Life."

The Mission: Build a “DNA Instruction Manual” for a creature you’ve invented.

The Rules: The Lego bricks represent DNA instructions. Different colored bricks represent different traits. Here’s your Code Key:

• Red = Wings

• Blue = 4 Legs

• Green = A Tail

• Yellow = Fins

• Any Other Color = 2 Heads

The Instructions: Go to your Lego bin and close your eyes. Reach in and grab exactly 3 bricks. Next, build a creature that has those three things, using the Code Key above.

Now exchange one of your three Legos for a different color. Rebuild your creature with the new trait. You just created a mutant!

Download the Lab Sheet

🖨️Print this out to track your observations and add it to your 3-ring science binder!

Episode 1.2 Lab Sheet: Extract DNA from Strawberries

797KB ∙ PDF file

Download

This Episode 1.2 Lab Sheet helps young scientists master the 'Strawberry DNA' lab. Includes key vocabulary, a structured scientific method guide (Method → Results → Conclusion), a dedicated space for photos or sketches, and a fun history fact to share at dinner.

Download

Questions?

Questions before, during, or after Thursday's experiment? Reach me at labcoatandlegos@gmail.com or drop a note in the Substack Lab Chat and I’ll get back to you.

The Lab Chat

Post a photo of your extracted DNA and Lego Challenge results here - and see what other scientists are building!

Today we're setting up the science behind Thursday's experiment. We'll talk about what DNA is, where to find it, and prepare you for what your kids will see when they extract it from a strawberry.

The PhD Deep Dive

• DNA is the instruction manual inside every living cell, written in a chemical code that determines how organisms grow, function, and reproduce.

• Strawberries are octoploids - they have eight copies of their DNA compared to the two that humans have, which makes the extraction visually dramatic and easier for kids to see.

• The experiment uses freezing and dish soap to break open cell membranes, salt to precipitate proteins, and cold alcohol to make the DNA clump together into visible white strands.

• This same basic technique - cell lysis, protein removal, and DNA precipitation - is used in genetic engineering, forensic science, and medical diagnostics.

The Big Picture

DNA is a physical, extractable molecule (not just an abstract concept) that is foundational to scientific literacy in the 21st century. The researchers developing mRNA vaccines, engineering drought-resistant crops, and personalizing cancer treatments are all manipulating the same molecule your kid will hold on a popsicle stick Thursday morning.

The Dinner Table Toolkit

Vocab Words

• DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid): This is the tiny, twisted ladder inside your body that holds all the secret instructions for making you who you are.

• Genetic: This describes traits, like the color of your eyes or the shape of your nose, that are passed down to you from your parents.

Fun Fact to Share

Strawberries have eight copies of their genetic information (compared to humans who have just two copies), plus they’re soft and packed with cells - which is why this experiment works so well and you can actually see the DNA!

The Debate Question

If scientists can read the “instruction book” for a strawberry, should they be allowed to rewrite parts of the instruction book to create better strawberries? How would you improve a strawberry, if you could?

The company JR Simplot has used modern genetic modification tools to create strawberry plants that will yield more on less land and strawberries that will last longer on store shelves before going bad. How cool is that?!?

Parent-to-Parent Note

Engagement Ratings

This was a high-interest lab for ALL my kids aged 6-13. My 6-year-old didn’t understand all the concepts but he was totally into the whole activity. I couldn’t get him to stop talking about DNA!

Safety Tip

Isopropyl alcohol is flammable; please keep it away from heat or open flames in the kitchen.

Prep for Thursday

Materials

2-3 Frozen strawberries, 1/2 cup water, 1 tbsp dish soap, and 1 tsp salt, ¼ cup ice-cold rubbing alcohol (70% or 91%)

Equipment

1 ziplock bag, 1 medium or large bowl, 1 colander (should nest inside of bowl), 1 circular coffee filter or large paper towel, 2 clear and colorless plastic or glass cups, 2 popsicle sticks

Do Before Thursday

• Freeze your strawberries tonight (if using fresh)

• Freeze the rubbing alcohol tonight - it needs to be ice-cold for the DNA to precipitate properly

Questions?

Questions before, during, or after Thursday’s experiment? Reach me at labcoatandlegos@gmail.com or drop a note in the Substack chat and I’ll get back to you.

Welcome to Lab Coat and Legos.

I’m Allison Pappas, PhD, a geneticist on a mission to bring high-level science to curious kids (and adults!). You don’t need a million-dollar university lab to start exploring the code of life - you just need the right guidance.

We are officially launching soon with a focus on hands-on, foundational biotech.

Coming for Episode 1: Extract DNA from Strawberries. In our debut episode, I’m going to show you exactly how to extract actual, visible DNA from a strawberry using basic household items. We’ll move beyond the “fruit mush” and talk about the actual science of lysis, precipitation, and what that white stringy stuff really tells us about biology.

Subscribe now to join the lab.

By joining today, you’ll be the first to know when we go live - and you’ll get everything you need to hit the ground running:

• The “Parent Brief” Tuesday Episodes: A weekly audio deep dive into the science behind that week’s experiment. I’ll give you the expert talking points and the “why” so you can answer your kid’s questions like a pro.

• The Thursday “Kid Lab” Episodes: I’ll walk your child through the experiment personally - step by step, in real time - so you don’t have to.

• Stress-Tested by Four Kids, Perfected by a PhD: Every protocol gets a trial run with my own four kids first. I take their results - and their chaos - back to the lab bench and refine until it works. Real science, guaranteed to succeed at your kitchen table.

The lab doors open soon. I can’t wait to see what you discover.

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