Elementary and high school students will talk science – lots of it – at the University of Guelph over the next two weeks.

U of G will host Let’s Talk Science events on DNA and chemistry this month.

On April 21 as part of Canada’s DNA Day, students will look at the role of the basic building blocks of life in our world.

High school students, teachers and the public will explore DNA at U of G’s Biodiversity Institute of Ontario (BIO) from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.

Thirty students from Grades 10 to 12 will attend the event in person, and classrooms across Canada will join online.

Integrative biology professors Bob Hanner, associate director of the Canadian Barcode of Life Network, and Sarah Adamowicz will be joined by Dirk Steinke, BIO director of education and outreach, to answer questions and explain genomics and DNA barcoding.

On April 26, Let’s Talk Science and the U of G chemistry department will host students in Grades 6 to 8 for the You Be the Chemist (YBTC) challenge.

Beginning in the Ontario Veterinary College’s Lifetime Learning Centre at 9 a.m., 22 competitors from local schools will take part in a multi-round competition.

They will perform chemistry experiments and tour University of Guelph chemistry labs.