Combine your visit with our DNA Workshop for £7.75 per pupil.
Find out more about DNA in our hands-on science workshop. Using the University of Leicester’s Go Bananas experiment, developed by GENIE, students will extract DNA from a banana, as well as finding out exactly what DNA is, and how it makes us who we are.
Duration: This workshop lasts approximately 1 hour and can be combined with our exhibition for a whole day visit.
Learning outcomes
• Students will undertake a simple laboratory practical session and understand the importance of each step in the process to extract DNA from living cells.
• Students will learn how DNA was extracted from the remains of Richard III and compared against samples taken from female line descendants of Richard’s sister.
• Students will learn that DNA is made of four base pairs, that genetic information is encoded into it and passed on from one generation to the next and that all living things contain DNA.
• Students will learn about the different scientific and archaeological methods used to research, excavate and verify the remains of the last Plantagenet King of England.
• Students will understand the series of events which led to Richard becoming King in 1483, the events around the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, and the subsequent discovery of his remains in a car park in Leicester in 2012.
National Curriculum links
Science: Genetics & Evolution: Inheritance, chromosomes, DNA and genes KS3; Working scientifically KS2
History: Local History Study, the use of evidence to make historical claims KS2/KS3; Development of church, state and society in Medieval Britain, the Wars of the Roses KS3.
To book this workshop as part of your visit, please email or call 0116 229 4132