What is Tech Savvy

Tech Savvy is a day-long STEM career workshop for girls in grades 6-9 from the surrounding area of Ohio University's campus. Sponsored by the local American Association of University Women chapter, Tech Savvy allows participating girls to choose hands-on laboratory experiences in faculty member's labs.

Explore the Life Machine That Fixes Solar Energy

Topic

The most abundant factories on earth are not made by humans, but by plants and they are called chloroplasts, small compartments inside plant cells. The job of the chloroplast is to convert solar energy to chemical energy and making sugars. In this workshop, you will observe and count chloroplasts individually under a microscope and estimate how many of chloroplast factories on earth. All life is encoded by 4 chemical (represented by 4 letter: A, T, C, and G) contained molecules, called DNAs. The total composition of all DNAs can be lined up and written as a book, called genome. Chloroplasts also contain a genome book, but much smaller than the main plant genome, called nuclear genome. In this workshop, you will use a computer and a timer to compare the size difference of these two genome books.

Learning Objectives

Understand chloroplasts are tiny but abundant organelles that fix solar energy
Know chloroplasts are green because of the chlorophyll pigment that harvest photons
Understand that the genome is just like a book containing A, T, C, and G letters and the number of these 4 letters determines the size of the genome
Know that each chloroplast has a genome, which is much smaller than the nuclear genome

From Solar Energy to Seeds

Topic

Nearly all types of energy we consumed are ultimately derived from sunlight through photosynthesis in plants. Chloroplasts are little cellular compartments that do this job, which converts solar energy to chemical energy. In crop production, this energy is primary stored in seeds. Where are the chloroplasts? How many are they? Why isn’t the chemical energy from chloroplasts stored in the same type of seeds? In this workshop, you will explore the function of chloroplasts, dig the composition of DNA molecules, and appreciate the diversity of life, such as seeds. You will first use a microscope to observe the location and morphology of chloroplasts in a plant cell. You will then read and compare the complexity of DNA molecules from two different plants. Finally, you will analyze the types of common beans mixed in a small bowl.

Learning Objectives

Know how microscope works
Understand chloroplasts are tiny but abundant organelles that fix solar energy
Know chloroplasts are green because of the chlorophyll pigment that harvest photons
Understand that a genome is just like a book containing A, T, C, and G letters and the different composition of these 4 letters determines the diversity of life, such as seeds
Know the diversity of life, including seeds

Solar Energy to Seeds

Topic

More than 70% of your daily caloric intake is from seeds. The chemical energy stored in seeds is derived from sunlight. Chloroplasts are little cellular compartments in plants that convert solar energy to chemical energy. What are the chloroplasts? Where and how many are they? Why isn’t the chemical energy from chloroplasts stored in the same type of seeds? In this workshop, you will explore the function of chloroplasts, dig the composition of DNA molecules, and appreciate the diversity of life, such as seeds. You will first use a microscope to observe the location and morphology of chloroplasts in a plant cell. You will then read and compare the complexity of DNA molecules from different photosynthetic organisms. Finally, you will use statistics to analyze the diversity of seeds mixed in a bowl.

Learning Objectives

Know how microscope works
Understand chloroplasts are tiny but abundant organelles that fix solar energy
Know chloroplasts are green because of the chlorophyll pigment that harvest photons
Understand that a genome is just like a book containing A, T, C, and G letters and the different composition of these 4 letters determines the diversity of life, such as seeds
Be familiar with sorting and ranking statistics
Know the diversity of life, including seeds

Solar Energy to Food

Topic

Do you know where our food energy ultimately comes from? Yes, the sun. But how is the solar energy converted to our food energy, such as that stored in grains? This workshop will help understand how chloroplasts, tiny solar engine, in plant cells that convert the energy of sun light to chemical energy. You will discover what the chloroplasts are, where and how many they are, and why there are so many diverse types of grains in the food market. You will 1) use a microscope to observe the location and morphology of chloroplasts in a plant cell, 2) play a set of prisms to separate a beam of white light, 3) compare the complexity of DNA molecules from different genomes, and 4) perform a scientific data analysis on the diversity of grains.

Learning Objectives

Know how microscope works
Understand chloroplasts are tiny but abundant organelles that fix solar energy
Know chloroplasts are green because of the chlorophyll pigment that harvest photons
Understand that a genome is just like a book containing A, T, C, and G letters and the different composition of these 4 letters determines the diversity of life, such as seeds
Be familiar with sorting and ranking statistics
Know the diversity of life, including seeds