Kids enjoy learning the ABCs of DNA during Science Saturday class

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This article was published 26/02/2018 (2850 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For most kids, Saturday mornings mean sitting back and watching cartoons.

But for a select few, the weekend means talking chemistry, magnets and DNA.

Nearly 30 kids were at the Brandon Public Library on Saturday for one of five monthly science classes led by volunteers from Let’s Talk Science.

Known as Science Saturdays, the program uses hands-on learning to try and engage kids in STEM, or science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and is facilitated locally by a team from Brandon University.

“I think it’s a fun way for kids to learn about science,” said Michelle Lam, whose two children, Eva and Jonathan, are both enrolled in the program.

The mornings are broken up into two sections, one for kids between the ages of five and eight, and another right after for those ages nine to 12.

Classes are free and held on the fourth Saturday of every month. The first, a class on chemistry, took place in January and involved kids mixing baking soda and vinegar in sandwich bags.

Rachel Marshall said the volunteers are able to explain difficult topics in a way that the kids can understand.

Marshall said she recently got her son Logan a science kit for him to use at home.

“They do a really good job and he likes it,” she said.

The topic on Saturday was DNA, otherwise known as the “instruction booklet that makes us, us,” from hair colour to skin tone, said Xisra Winder, site co-ordinator for Let’s Talk Science.

Explaining the molecular properties that make up DNA can be difficult to explain to the average child, but Winder said the key is to use everyday examples that kids can relate to — in the case of DNA, that example was Lego.

For the younger kids, the volunteers from Let’s Talk Science had them create a model DNA strand using pieces of cloth and safety pins. Later, they were told to do the same, but with Twizzlers and Jujubes.

The older kids, meanwhile, were given a task that was a bit more challenging. The group was asked to crush bananas and separate the DNA using a combination of water, soap, salt and rubbing alcohol.

“So you want to always pull from experiences that they’re familiar with,” Winder said

Winder has been involved with Let’s Talk Science for almost one year and is studying psychology and physics at BU.

Although she admits that biology isn’t her strong suit, Winder is passionate about astronomy and has been involved with the university’s outreach program since 2010.

In 2009, BU received an endowment to acquire a new-16-inch telescope for the Astronomical Observatory and in the years since, Winder helped design a program that allows the public to peer through the telescope for free.

On average, she said between 1,200 and 1,600 people take part in the program each year.

“It’s really rewarding teaching something new and exciting, then introducing somebody to a new idea and getting them excited about it,” she said.

Three more Science Saturdays are scheduled through March, April and May. The topics so far are slated to be physics, astronomy and geology.

“I like them a lot,” said six-year-old Abigail Allen. “It’s fun.”

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