Skip to main content

Make Gel Electrophoresis Fun and Memorable: A Lab Survival Guide for New Biology Teachers

If you’re a first-year teacher or new to teaching gel electrophoresis, here’s some truth: it can feel overwhelming the first time.

You're juggling:

  • 🧪 Complex procedures

  • 🧫 Expensive or limited materials

  • 🧍 Classroom management while running a lab

  • 📝 Ensuring students actually understand what's happening—not just copying answers

And yes—prep takes time.

⏳ Why Gel Electrophoresis Labs Take Longer to Prep

Unlike simple demos or guided notes, gel electrophoresis involves:

  • Making or purchasing agarose gels

  • Dye or DNA sample preparation (often requires simulated DNA)

  • Setting up electrophoresis chambers, wires, and power supplies

  • Labeling sample lanes and preparing lab groups

  • Managing cleanup of expensive or delicate equipment

And that’s before students even step into the lab.

If you’re low on budget or time, it's completely okay to simulate the process using printable or digital materials first.

That’s why I designed my electrophoresis TPT resources to provide the engagement and concept understanding—without the heavy lift of a full wet-lab.

🧬 Easy Wins: Use These Resources to Build Confidence First

Here’s how I recommend first-year teachers use these products:

1️⃣ Start with the Gel Electrophoresis Cut-and-Paste- Introduce Vocabulary and Process with the Intro Activity

🎯 Focus: Interpretation skills, critical thinking, fun engagement
Students label diagrams, predict banding outcomes, and walk through the process on paper. Students will separate DNA strands into fragments and graph base pairs onto a gel electrophoresis diagram.

  • ✅ No lab setup

  • ✅ No gel trays or staining

  • ✅ Print and go
    Use it to introduce the idea of DNA separation and how bands form on a gel.



2️⃣ Assess student knowledge with the Halloween Electrophoresis Mystery

🎯 Focus: Interpretation skills, critical thinking, fun engagement
Students analyze printed gel images, solve a crime, and apply science.


🧪 Want to Do the Full Lab Later?

Once you’ve built confidence, here are tips to simplify your first gel lab:

  • Use pre-cast agarose gels if available—saves ~1 hour of prep

  • Practice running 1 gel solo after school so you know what to expect

  • Assign student lab roles (pipetter, recorder, power source manager) to reduce chaos

  • Always have a backup activity in case the gels don’t work perfectly (hint: your printable electrophoresis sheets can still be used for interpretation)

💡 Pro Tip: Build a Lab Cart with These Items

Start small—you don’t need a full biotech lab to get started. Gather:

  • Micropipette or plastic transfer pipettes

  • Simulated DNA dyes or food coloring

  • Agarose (or purchase pre-made kits from Carolina, Edvotek, etc.)

  • Power source (some use 9V battery kits for small setups!)

  • Tray, comb, and gel mold

  • Safety goggles, gloves, and timers

📌 Save or Pin for Later

Need help visualizing your lesson? Follow me on TPT at Teaching Biology is Fun and get updates when new gel activities drop!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A More In Depth Look Into "The Biomolecules Food Analysis Lab"

Embarking on the Biomolecule Food Analysis Lab might seem like a daunting task, especially when gearing up for the hands-on segment. But fret not! I've got you covered with some nifty tips and tricks to make your Biomolecules Food Analysis Lab experience not only manageable but downright engaging. Biomolecules Lab Setup In this lab, a diverse range of food items is utilized. While you certainly have the option to purchase these items yourself, it's both cost-effective and convenient to request that students bring specific food items for testing. Here's a rundown of the food items used: Apple slices American cheese Oreo cookies Grapes Cereal Gatorade Milk Vegetable cooking oil Apple juice Water (serving as a control variable) Materials To conduct the lab smoothly, you'll need to ensure you have the following materials ready: Sandwich bags 8 test tubes (make sure students rinse them after each test) 24 disposable pipettes Lugol's Iodine Solution (Note: Students must w...
Post a Comment
Read more

Exploring Osmosis with Gummy Bears: A Fun Science Experiment

Welcome to the Gummy Bear Lab, where we'll delve into the fascinating world of osmosis using everyone's favorite chewy candy! While gummy bears are the star of the show, you can also experiment with Orbeez if you prefer, though caution is advised with the latter due to safety concerns. Objective Students will investigate the question: "How will soaking the gummy bears in different solutions affect their size?" Through mass measurement, students will track changes in the gummy bears' size before and after soaking, enabling them to draw conclusions about the effects of the solutions on osmosis. Get ready to dive into the world of mass measurement and discover the fascinating transformations of gummy bears in various solutions! Materials Needed Gummy bears or worms Sugar and/or salt (solute) Napkins Weighing boats and Scale Lab Report Ruler Calculator Magnifying lens Pre-Lab Preparation Option 1: Have students measure and weigh the gummy bears a day before the lab. P...
Post a Comment
Read more

Teaching Biomolecules with Ease: Engaging Resources for Your Middle & High School Science Class

If you're getting ready to teach one of the most fundamental (and sometimes frustrating) units in biology— biomolecules —you’re not alone! Proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acids are key to understanding so many life processes, but many students struggle to keep them straight. The good news? You don’t have to start from scratch. Below are  seven classroom-tested, no-prep resources  (printable and digital) that make biomolecules clear, fun, memorable —and how to use a few of my favorite TPT resources to make the content interactive, visual, and accessible for all learners. Understanding biomolecules —carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids—is the key that unlocks later units like enzymes, cellular respiration, and genetics. Yet many students struggle to keep these macromolecules straight. Why Teaching Biomolecules Matters Keyword: why teach biomolecules in biology Biomolecules are the building blocks of life. Without a solid understanding of these m...
Post a Comment
Read more