The College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources at the University of Hawaii-Manoa has received $20,000 from the Monsanto Fund.The college says the money will support salaries and materials for "Gene-ius Day." It's a special program that introduces students in grades 4 through 12 to basic genetics and the function of DNA.
The founder and director of Gene-ius Day, Ania Wieczorek, is an associate specialist in the college's Biotechnology, Biotechnology Outreach Program.
She says a primary goal of the program is to build a strong understanding of basic genetics at the elementary school level.
That way, teachers are able to present increasingly complex biotechnology topics in the upper grades.
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