The Genetics & DNA kit is the only one of our sets that is specialized in one area of study, with all of its experiments focusing on DNA and heredity. While this kit seems outwardly like a biology kit, it examines the biological phenomenon of heredity through a chemistry lens. The kit is broken up into two basic sections of inquiry: genetics, which is the branch of science dealing with heredity, and DNA, the acid that contains genetic codes. Through tests on DNA of non-human organisms, this kit reveals the structure and behavior of DNA as it appears in all organisms, teaching principles that apply to the human body as well.
Because of this kit's in-depth investigation of genetics through a chemistry lens, we have named this chemistry set as one of our top ten choices.
The Genetics & DNA kit comes with 20 different experiments, all having to do with inheritance and the physical structure of DNA. Experiments include isolating the DNA of a tomato, analyzing DNA evidence to solve a “crime” and breeding a bacteria colony. Some of the experiments don’t involve mixing chemicals and the kit includes some games and activities that aren’t technically experiments, but they have the same effect of offering hands-on reinforcement of the kit’s lessons.
The Genetics & DNA kit comes with mixing and measuring tools, as well as dishes in which to conduct the experiments. The supply tray also includes a plastic double helix puzzle (which might frustrate young kids), safety goggles and other items designed specifically for the kit’s experiments. You will need a few household items to complete some of the experiments. For example, you’ll need to provide your own tomato for the DNA isolation test.
This kit comes with a few chemicals. Like Milestones in Science, Genetics & DNA is not strictly a chemistry set and many of the experiments do not involve chemicals. Besides the tomato, the kit contains everything you need to complete the 20 experiments.
The Genetics & DNA kit comes with a 48-page manual, which contains detailed experiment procedures and explanations, as well as information about historical discoveries by major scientists in the field of genetics. Milestones in Science and Genetics & DNA are the only two sets on our survey that place the included experiments and lessons in a historical context. Thus, even though the Genetics & DNA kit has nowhere near as many experiments or supplies as our top-rated C3000 kit, it offers a more extensive educational context for its 20 experiments than the C3000 does for its impressive 387 experiments.
The manual for this kit also does a nice job of placing the field of genetics into a larger scientific context, discussing the genome project and its implications for medicine, as well as the process of cloning and the surrounding moral debate.
Even though the Genetics & DNA kit is one of the smaller chemistry sets on our list, we appreciate that it provides such detailed background information for the experiments. A child who completes the 20 experiments in this kit will have a solid foundation for understanding heredity in biology classes in school. At the same time, your child will be learning the rules of proper experimentation and gaining some familiarity with handling chemicals, lessons that will further his/her success in chemistry classes.
