To understand the anatomical parts of flowers, students in the animal and plant science course use play-dough to create models. This hands-on approach allowed students to distinguish the different parts of the reproductive system of plants and how plants are able to repopulate. Students learned that many flowers are complete flowers, containing both male and female organs, which is what allows them to self-pollinate.
This activity serves as a foundation for students to learn how some genetic engineering of plants is accomplished. As a result of this lab, students learned that genetic engineering is not as simple as it may sound - it is quite an articulate process!
In addition to scientific applications, students began to focus on the differences in plant flowers to aid in identification of different flower species and varieties. The play-dough lab better prepares the students to look for these same features in their live plant labs.