Number of Classes
6
Session Duration
60 minutes
School Subjects Alignment
Course Description
In this six-week mini-course, students gain hands-on experience with modern molecular biology techniques using miniPCR kits.
Through a series of structured 60-minute lab periods, learners practice essential skills such as pipetting, setting up PCR reactions, running DNA amplification, and analyzing results on a gel.
The course emphasizes real experimental workflow, data interpretation, and scientific thinking, culminating in simple PCR experiments where students compare predicted outcomes with their observed results. Designed as an introduction to biotechnology careers, this compact course builds confidence and competence in core laboratory methods used in research and industry.
Students will receive individual mini biotechnology lab kits to complete hands-on laboratory activities aligned with course objectives. These kits allow learners to practice essential biotech skills through guided experiments conducted during scheduled lab sessions. For safety and instructional quality, all lab activities must be supervised by an in-person staff member at the school site who is responsible for monitoring proper lab procedures, equipment use, and adherence to safety protocols.
Mass State Standards
- HS-LS1-1 – From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
- Biotechnology Career/Skill Development Career and Technical Eduction(CTE)
- HS-LS2 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
- STE (Science & Technology/Engineering) Framework — Biology (Life Sciences)
- Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes (LS1)
- Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits (LS3)
Skills Learned
- Exposure to biotechnology and bio life sciences careers
- Scientific vocabulary and lab communication
- Critical Thinking & Problem-Solving Skills
- Scientific & Analytical Skills
- Laboratory Skills
About Digital Ready
Digital Ready is a nonprofit based in Boston that empowers high school students — especially Black and Latinx youth — to build concrete pathways into careers in STEM and Boston’s innovation economy. Through a mix of hands-on studios, early-college credits, work-based learning, and mentorship, Digital Ready helps students translate their interests and creativity into skills and opportunities in fields like design, engineering, technology, and biotech. The organization is committed to social justice and equity: it intentionally supports underrepresented communities, challenges structural barriers, and aims to make Boston’s innovation economy more inclusive and accessible to young people of color.