Joanne Jacobs
Playing with DNA
Among the STEM toys in this holiday gift guide is this kit for ages 10 and up. In my day, children couldn’t isolate DNA at home, though I guess we could breed bacteria. Neither could scientists.

Students learn to isolate DNA from a tomato, build a DNA model, and breed bacteria as they gain an understanding of how genetic engineering informs many biomedical- and science-related fields. They can even analyze evidence to identify suspects and solve a crime by studying genetic codes in their very own labs.