Quest Grades 1-3: Class Descriptions, Dates & Times
Below are the class descriptions of the nine engaging, science-based, hands-on labs for the 2023-2024 Saturday GENE-iuses Program!
Lab 1
Open Wide!
Do you brush your teeth every day? We hope you do because healthy teeth allow us to eat! In this lab, you’ll learn about different teeth shapes, the teeth of various animals, and how to keep those pearly whites clean and healthy!
September 16, 2023
AM: 10 - 12 PM
PM: 2 - 4 PM
AM: 10 - 12 PM
PM: 2 - 4 PM
Lab 2
Boning Up on your Skeleton
Explore your own skeleton! In this lab, you’ll learn about different parts of the human skeleton and compare our bones to those of other animals. In preparation for Halloween, this lab will require some spooky skeleton sidekicks!
October 21, 2023
AM: 10 - 12 PM
PM: 2 - 4 PM
AM: 10 - 12 PM
PM: 2 - 4 PM
Lab 3
Brilliant Brains
You use your brain every day, but do you know how your brain works? Which part of your brain keeps you breathing and your heart beating? Which part allows you to read and write? Which part makes you good at music or math? Learn about different parts of the brain, including the neurons that make up our brains. After putting all this information together, you’ll see why protecting our brains is so important!
November 4, 2023
AM: 10 - 12 PM
PM: 2 - 4 PM
AM: 10 - 12 PM
PM: 2 - 4 PM
Lab 4
Reactions in Action
Let’s hope this lab doesn’t get too explosive as we turn the classroom into a laboratory and explore chemical reactions. We’ll look for signs that reactions have happened and learn how to speed up and slow down chemical reactions. The take-home activity will leave you bubbling with excitement!
December 2, 2023
AM: 10 - 12 PM
PM: 2 - 4 PM
AM: 10 - 12 PM
PM: 2 - 4 PM
Lab 5
Classifying Classification
It’s alive! It’s ALIVE!!! Wait, what does it even mean to be alive? In this lab, learn about life on Earth and how scientists group organisms. Once you learn how to classify animals, we’ll go on a farm animal adventure and you’ll get to take home a figurine for each animal you can properly identify!
January 27, 2024
AM: 10 - 12 PM
PM: 2 - 4 PM
AM: 10 - 12 PM
PM: 2 - 4 PM
Lab 6
Flying Up the Food Chain
Humans get their energy from food, but where does this energy come from in the first place? Learn about how energy flows through the food chain from prey to predator, and where humans fit in. You’ll even get to take home a reminder of the adaptations that help birds of prey hunt their food!
February 17, 2024
AM: 10 - 12 PM
PM: 2 - 4 PM
AM: 10 - 12 PM
PM: 2 - 4 PM
Lab 7
Dive Deep!
Let’s dive in and explore the deep ocean! In this lab, you’ll learn about amazing adaptations that help organisms survive at different depths. You’ll get to help camouflage critters to keep them safe in both coral reefs and the deep, dark ocean. Don’t worry, though, we won’t get too wet!
March 23, 2024
AM: 10 - 12 PM
PM: 2 - 4 PM
AM: 10 - 12 PM
PM: 2 - 4 PM
Lab 8
Watersheds and Me
Have you ever wondered how Hawaiians were able to colonize these islands so successfully? They understood the importance of watersheds! Everything in a watershed trickles down, affecting other plants, animals, and even humans. Learn about these connections and make an awesome sedimentation snow globe!
April 20, 2024
AM: 10 - 12 PM
PM: 2 - 4 PM
AM: 10 - 12 PM
PM: 2 - 4 PM
Lab 9
Amazing Agriculture
Do you eat plants? Of course, you do! Where do these plants come from? While some people have a home garden, most food comes from farms. In this lab, you’ll learn about all the work and science that goes into farming and the benefits you reap from amazing agriculture!
May 18, 2024
AM: 10 - 12 PM
PM: 2 - 4 PM
AM: 10 - 12 PM
PM: 2 - 4 PM
