Microscope Basics

Martin using microscope to study plants

The students of the 7th grade class at VHMS have had quite a beginning to the second semester!  They are learning about genetic variation, plant reproduction and microscope basics.  

Dissection of a Lily

The 7th grade students dissecting a Lily flower to see the different parts of a flower.


DNA Sequences

The 8th grade students at VHMS are learning the basics of Mendelian genetics, cellular reproduction, and DNA sequences.  In this activity, students were asked to solve the crime of " Who took the teacher's apple?" DNA was "collected" from the crime scene, and they were the researchers who constructed the partial DNA sequence to match to the DNA found at the crime scene.  This was just one of many activities to understand DNA sequence & the matching of nitrogen bases.

Cause & Effect

VHMS 8th grade students participated in a chain-reaction project, demonstrating the literary concept of cause & effect.  Students built an apparatus involving complex steps to complete a simple act. The machines built did a variety of things from flipping a switch to making a hole in one!

Watershed

Earth Science is the focus of 6th graders at VHMS.  In this lab, students were tasked with creating a "watershed" and literally following the water!  All in an effort to gain an understanding of what a watershed is, how we contribute (positively or negatively) to them, and how to spot them in real life!