Banana DNA can unwind in a string that's about 3-1/2 to four inches long. It's possible to make soy ink out of Kool Aid, vegetable and lecithin. You can also make plastic from corn starch.
That's just some of what Madison High School junior Heather Gieseking learned recently during two intense weekends of instruction about biotechnology.
In a third weekend later this month, she'll help teach four fellow Madison High School students what she's learned in the 4-H Science in Urban Communities Teens Teaching Youth Biotechnology program. Then the group of students will teach middle school students about biotechnology during an after-school program.
"I think it's going to be fun, because I enjoy being around kids," said Heather, 16, who has a 3.89 cumulative GPA at Madison High School. "I was actually pretty proud of myself," she said. Heather wants to attend Ohio State University and study to be a pediatrician.
"It was a great opportunity," Heather said. "We got to test the DNA of a plant, like a corn plant, to see if it was a good enough plant to grow."
Heather's foster mother, Billie Thornton, 71, was pleased that Heather was chosen. "It's great. I try to push her as much as I can," Thornton said.
High School and Middle School Principal Rob Miller and Director of Student Services Karen Missey selected Heather for the program.
"We were kind of looking for a well-rounded student that is academically strong, kind of a risk-taker," Missey said. "She's well-rounded across the board in all subject matters. ... She's also one that's not afraid to ask questions."
Heather is one of four high school leaders at schools in Madison, Cahokia, St. Louis and Kansas City who are involved in the program, funded by a $25,000 grant from the National 4-H Council and the United Soybean Board.
The Missouri and Illinois students met on Jan. 11-14, in Indianapolis with students from Indiana, Ohio and Delaware to learn about biotechnology. The program continued with training at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, in Olivette, Mo.
The teens will teach other students from their schools what they learned on the trips, and will spend at least 20 hours teaching middle school students participating in the 4-H ExCEL after-school classes. The four students from Madison High School that Heather will help train are sophomore Deria Maple and juniors Leslie Hardin, Larry Sanders and Dajuan Williams. Twenty-five to 30 middle school students will be taught in Madison and a total of about 100 in the four schools.
The Madison and Cahokia high schools were chosen for the biotechnology program because they are the only schools in the Metro East that have 4-H ExCEL after-school classes.
Miller said this is a good opportunity for his students.
"This is the first time we've had a student do this sort of thing," Miller said. "There's a rapport, relationships that I think that (students) can build with those kids. And I think they can make it fun."
Contact reporter Jim Merkel at 618-344-0264, ext. 138
