Nett Lake Elementary School, which is incorporating regenerative medicine and science into their curriculum with an RMM grant, came to visit the University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth Campus, on Thursday, November 2, 2017. About 50 students brought their thinking hats and enjoyed learning about DNA from one of Duluth's post-docs. Kindergartners through sixth graders paired off and constructed DNA from Twizzlers and gummy bears. They had no trouble grasping the scientific concepts, but it was a little hard to stick the toothpicks through the gummy bears.
The students worked super well together, and it was plain to see that these kind and caring young people would be great contributors to healthcare or science!
At the end of the day, everyone got a "Great Genes" t-shirt and an enthusiastic invitation to come back again. Faculty, staff, and students of the University agreed that they probably enjoyed it even more than the kids did. Kudos to the faculty, staff, and parents at Nett Lake Elementary for having great kids and for braving the long bus ride to bring them to Duluth!