Recently, 99 students at Meadowlark Elementary got to learn about genetics with Home Science Tools. Students discovered how traits are passed down from parents to offspring through a turkey genetics project.
As the Thanksgiving holiday approached, Home Science Tools wanted to offer an engaging, hands-on, science experience to the first-grade classes at Meadowlark Elementary. HST Founder and CEO, Frank Schaner said, “We look for ways to give back to our local community, especially this time of year.”
Product Developer, Stacy Craft, M.A. used her background in special education to create an inclusive learning experience for the first-grade classes. Students were able to ask questions to experienced science educators to learn how and why the baby turkey they created inherited traits from their parents. After the experience, Stacy said, “It’s great to see these kids learn something new about the world that relates to themselves.”
This turkey genetics project gave the children the opportunity to observe similarities and differences in the characteristics of the mother and father turkeys. Students then cut out feet, eyes, and body they predicted their baby turkey might have. Finally, students cut out colored feathers that include colors unique to each parent turkey to build a unique turkey with shared traits to each parent turkey.
Click here to learn more about this FREE Turkey Genetics Project. Check out other FREE science lessons and project to try at home.
