At Sci-Tech, inspiration is everywhere, even in a strawberry. For three campers in our Biology workshop, that spark came during their four-day Genetics chug, led by Jennifer Wyle, Camp Wellness Director.
Jennifer wears many hats at camp. As Wellness Director, she works with our nurses, staff and Community Care Team, helping to maintain a safe and supportive environment for every camper and staff member.
At Sci-Tech, all staff are invited to share their interests with the entire camp community. There are many different ways that staff can do this, either by leading an activity or using their skills to enhance an already existing activity (like playing their musical instrument at Shabbat). For Jennifer, she jumped at the chance to lead a chug (elective). Jennifer brings both scientific expertise and a deep love of education to her work. She’s a graduate of UMass Amherst with a degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a minor in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. This fall, she begins her first year as a master’s student in Public Health Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh.
In her Genetics chug, Jennifer guided campers through four days of fun, hands-on learning designed to meet a wide range of learning styles. Using whiteboard drawings, slideshow visuals, worksheets, camper-to-camper discussions, scientific drawing, and a culminating experiment, she created an engaging and inclusive learning environment.
Each day explored a different theme:
- Day 1: Central Dogma – Understanding how DNA becomes RNA, then proteins
- Day 2: Punnett Squares and Pedigrees – Predicting how traits are inherited
- Day 3: Genetic Dragons – A creative game matching genotypes and phenotypes
- Day 4: Strawberry DNA Extraction – Seeing DNA with your own eyes
Chugim (electives) are one week and workshops are two weeks. This was perfect timing for the campers in the Genetics chug to carryover what they were doing there into their Biology workshop. We spoke with the three camp
ers who excitedly told us about how the inspiration came about.
“We were in the Genetics chug together and we extracted the DNA from a strawberry,” the campers shared. “We used a solution made of dish soap, salt, and water and then later isopropyl alcohol. We used this to separate the DNA from the mixture. It opened the cells of the strawberries so the DNA could actually be extracted. And it did actually look like cotton candy. We called it ‘DNA cotton candy’.”
That spark of inspiration followed them right to their Biology workshop, where they had the chance to apply their new knowledge in a deeper, more focused way. The Biology workshop at Sci-Tech explores marine ecosystems and the scientific tools used to study them, like microscopes, colorimeters, and pH probes. Campers examine plant anatomy, water quality, and key evolutionary traits of marine life, focusing on real habitats in northeastern Massachusetts.
These three campers used their newly gained genetics knowledge to shape their workshop project, connecting concepts across disciplines and making their learning more meaningful by repeating their strawberry experiment on other local plants.
As part of the workshop’s final showcase called TECHTalks, small groups created tri-fold posters detailing one element of marine ecosystems that fascinated them most. They also prepared 3–5 minute talks about how they can apply what they’ve learned at camp to ecosystems near their homes.
“It’s incredibly rewarding to watch campers keep exploring a concept that interests them and connect it to other topics,” Jennifer said. “I’m so proud of them and privileged to inspire the next generation of scientists.”
The Biology workshop instructor Adam Smolinsky who is a veteran Chemistry teacher at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Arlington, VA said, “The campers come into workshop usually not having experience with the topic and I have new campers every two weeks, so introducing them to something they will take with them beyond my workshop is wonderful. That’s the power of curiosity – it builds on itself.”
At Sci-Tech, we have 6 core values, including sakranut (curiosity). These campers embraced it fully, taking what started as a simple strawberry experiment and turning it into a passion-driven, cross-disciplinary project.
And while the DNA may have only looked like cotton candy, the learning they took with them was 100% the real deal. 