Spring Break Camps

Three of our most popular camps in April!

Get a jump start on summer science, and sign up for camps over spring break! April sessions are identical to summer, with the same curricula and schedules. See below for available camps and locations. Too busy in April? Check out the summer schedule on the camp home page for more options.

Long Island
April 14 – 18
NYC
April 14 – 18
 
Sleepy Hollow
April 14 – 18

+Spring Camps: Fun with DNA at Regeneron DNALC will be held April 15–18, Tuesday–Friday from 9:30 am–2:30 pm, with Parent Participation Day Friday at 2:30 pm.

Spring Break Fun with DNA

Fun with DNA is an entry-level course in DNA science. This camp is designed especially for highly motivated students interested in expanding their knowledge of basic genetics and cell biology. Students are immersed in an environment of hands-on activities and laboratory experiments designed to increase genetic literacy, encourage critical and creative thinking, and spark interest in the field of biotechnology.

Campers will:

  • construct cell and DNA models;
  • use compound microscopes to view various cell types;
  • extract DNA from their own cells and from plants;
  • use stereo microscopes to observe mutations in fruit flies; and 
  • genetically engineer bacteria cells with firefly genes.

Details:

  • Grades: currently in grades 5–6
  • Long Island: April 14–18, 2025
    Monday to Thursday 9:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m., Parent Day Friday, 9:30-11:00 a.m.
  • Sleepy Hollow: April 15–18, 2025
    Tuesday to Friday 9:30 am–2:30 p.m., Parent Day Friday, 2:30–4:00 p.m.
  • $580 per student earlybird tuition, $600 beginning 3/1/25
  • Available at:
    DNA Learning Center Regeneron DNA Learning Center icon
Enroll

Spring Break Green Genes

Green Genes is a challenging summer camp designed to apply and build on knowledge gained in Fun with DNA and World of Enzymes. In this biotechnology camp, students learn more about the practical applications of recombinant DNA technology.

Through a series of lab experiments, students utilize many of the same techniques employed by pharmaceutical companies to produce human insulin. Through cloning and expressing the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) gene, normally found in the Pacific jellyfish Aequoria victoria, students work each day towards a final goal of extracting and purifying a jellyfish protein from genetically engineered bacteria. Each experiment acts as a stepping stone for the next day's work, requiring students to demonstrate proper lab techniques. Students will:

  • use enzymes to cut and paste genes to form a functional plasmid;
  • analyze results with gel electrophoresis;
  • genetically engineer bacteria to produce a visible protein;
  • use polymerase chain reaction to amplify DNA fragments; and
  • isolate and purify GFP using chromatography.

Details:

  • Grades: currently in grade 8 or World of Enzymes alumni currently in grade 7
  • April 14–18, 2025
  • Monday to Thursday 9:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m., Parent Day Friday, 9:30 a.m.–11:00 a.m.
  • $580 per student earlybird tuition, $600 beginning 3/1/25
  • Available at:
    DNA Learning Center NYC
Enroll

Spring Break DNA Science

The inauguration of the Human Genome Project in 1988 marked the beginning of a national commitment to apply DNA technology toward understanding human health and development. Biologists have gained the extraordinary ability to dissect any of the approximately 30,000 genes that compose human chromosomes. Tracing the molecular pathway through which hereditary information flows between DNA, RNA, and protein has added rich detail to our understanding of how human life develops from fertilized egg to adulthood.

The abstract nature of molecular genetics can best be overcome by approaching the subject in the same manner as scientists—by asking questions and doing experiments. The DNA Science curriculum introduces high school and college students with little or no research experience in molecular genetics to the elegant tools of modern biotechnology, and is centered around laboratory work. Each experiment acts as a stepping stone for the next. Students begin with the basic techniques of DNA restriction, transformation, and isolation; then apply them to the construction and analysis of a simple recombinant. Students will:

  • examine bacterial growth curves using the E.coli genetic system;
  • evaluate the difference between the rapid and classical method of bacterial transformation by calculating transformation efficiencies using pAMP and pKAN plasmids;
  • perform a restriction analysis and gel electrophoresis, then graph the results to understand COS sites; and
  • digest plasmids with restriction enzymes, ligate the fragments together, then transform the recombinant-DNA, and finally perform a plasmid minipreparation of the new recombinant to identify how it originally ligated.

Details:

  • Grades: currently in grades 9–12
  • April 14–18, 2025
  • Monday to Thursday 9:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m., Friday 9:30 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
  • $675 per student earlybird tuition, $700 beginning 3/1/25
  • Available at:
    DNA Learning CenterRegeneron DNA Learning Center icon
Enroll