Workshops

Holiday workshops: Extract your own DNA (ages 12-14)

Make the most unique piece of jewellery you will ever own in this exciting workshop!

Image credit: URENCO

After harvesting their own cheek cells, participants will extract their DNA using lysis buffer, protease and ethanol. They will go home with a piece of their own DNA in a necklace.
This workshop takes place in the URENCO Young Scientist Centre’s teaching laboratory, offering participants a unique opportunity to experience working in a real lab environment. For safety reasons, all participants must wear closed-toe shoes, and anyone with long hair is required to tie it back.


Warning: participants will extract their own DNA from their saliva.

This workshop is strictly for ages 12-14 only. We reserve the right to refund or deny entry to those who are not in this age range.

Refunds can only be issued for tickets cancelled at least two weeks (14 calendar days) in advance of the event date. Please note that this supersedes our normal event terms and conditions. Please also note that Eventbrite adds a small booking fee to the amount paid for each ticket option.

About the Urenco Young Scientist Centre

The Urenco Young Scientist Centre (UYSC) is an imaginative science laboratory at the heart of the Ri, where young people aged 7–18 can experiment and explore science and technology outside the classroom. In a YSC workshop, students become a scientist for the day, testing their own ideas by designing creative experiments. The whole experience ignites a passion for scientific discovery and encourages curiosity-driven learning.

Students are given the time and space to experiment. Not constrained by time to produce a ‘right’ result, students work as professional research scientists do: in response to their observations, encouraging curiosity-driven learning. And just as in the best research laboratories, students have access to advanced technology and experiments outside the remit of the normal school curriculum, making this an experience to remember.

For any queries regarding this workshop please get in touch by phone 020 7409 2992 or email events@ri.ac.uk.

Event terms and conditions