Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory DNA Learning Center to Hold Day Camps at City Tech Brooklyn

This summer, from July 8-Aug. 23, the DNA Learning Center of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory will be offering summer camps at New York City College of Technology for the first time. Sessions will be offered for children entering sixth through 12th grade. There will be five different camps offered over the summer.

Fun with DNA is an introduction to DNA for children entering grades six-seven. World of Enzymes, for kids entering seventh-eighth grades, takes a closer look at enzymes in the context of the food and health industries. Green Genes introduces students from eighth-ninth grades to the technique used to create and extract green fluorescent protein from bacteria - the same technique that is used to make insulin. DNA Science engages teens entering grades 10-12 in lab experiments that lead to analyzing recombinant DNA. Lastly, DNA Barcoding, also designed for students entering grades 10-12, teaches teens to use a unique sequence of an organism’s DNA to study biodiversity or investigate food fraud through species identification. Learning from previous sessions is built upon in each new camp and is applied to real world industries.

“My son attended many of the summer camps long before I worked here so I have a parent’s perspective as well, says Valerie Meszaros, the Administrative Manager at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory - DNA Learning Center. He developed a deeper interest in biology from his experiences here.  By the time he was in high school taking science courses, he easily performed well since he had learned a scientific approach to the concepts introduced and had become familiar with working in a lab. His confidence in his abilities grew, and later he entered college planning to major in biology. I attribute the groundwork for his self-confidence to the interest in science forged here when he attended summer camps under the guidance of very knowledgeable and motivated teachers.”