Frankenstein’s Lab: 6 Creepy Classroom Activities
Middle & High School
Bring your science lessons to life! Frankenstein isn't just for spooky stories; it's a monster hit for teaching everything from biotechnology to electrifying physics. Using mind-blowing Frankenstein themes to teach science lessons provides an exciting interdisciplinary approach, engaging students in discoveries about chemistry, biology, physics, technology, and more.
Here’s how you can use the legendary creature to supercharge your science lessons.
1. Biology and Anatomy:
Science concepts: Human anatomy, organ systems, and cellular biology.
Lesson idea: Use the fictional story of Dr. Frankenstein's attempt to reanimate a creature from human body parts to teach students about the complexity of human anatomy and physiology. A fun way to explore the structure and function of major organ systems (e.g., circulatory, respiratory, nervous systems).
Activity: Use a model or diagram of the human body, labeling key organs and systems, and discuss the challenges of assembling a functioning human from different parts. Identify the various regions of the brain and their functions.
Discussion: Why is it impossible to reanimate dead tissues as Dr. Frankenstein does? Discuss cell death, tissue decay, and the importance of organ compatibility in transplants. Hypothesize how damage or abnormalities in the brain regions might influence behavior, memory, or motor skills, and relate these findings to Frankenstein’s monster's abnormal or aggressive behavior, discussing whether it could be linked to the brain’s structure.
2. Electricity and the Nervous System:
Science Concepts: Bioelectricity, nervous system function, and the history of electricity.
Lesson Idea: Frankenstein provides a hair-raising way to discuss the role of electricity in science. Victor Frankenstein uses electricity to bring the creature to life, inspired by real-life scientific experiments, like Galvani’s work with frog legs, that explored how electricity affects muscles and nerves (Galvanism).
Activity: Use the NeuLog Galvanic Skin Response Logger Sensor to measure changes in the skin's electrical conductivity, demonstrating the body's natural electrical responses. This modern-day instrument will help students understand galvanism and how electrical impulses in living organisms fascinated scientists like Victor Frankenstein.
Discussion: Discuss how real electrical impulses work in the human nervous system. How do neurons transmit signals? Discuss how electrical signals in the body were misunderstood in the 18th and 19th centuries, leading to the belief that electricity could be used to revive a dead organism. Explore how that idea totally misses the full complexity of life and how biological systems really work.
3. Genetics and Biotechnology:
Science Concepts: DNA, genetic engineering, cloning, biotechnology, and ethics.
Lesson Idea: Discuss how modern science has shifted from assembling parts to manipulating genetics, exploring how far we’ve come from the methods Mary Shelley imagined in the 19th century. Relate Dr. Frankenstein's ideas about creating life to cloning, CRISPR technology, or organ transplants, which were beyond 19th-century science but are groundbreaking advancements that have become routine today.
Activity: Use the DNA Extraction Activity to engage students in understanding the fundamentals of a single molecule that contains the instructions an organism needs to develop, live, and reproduce. The structure of a DNA molecule is too small to be seen with even the most powerful microscopes. Although we can’t see individual A, C, T, and G nucleotides, we can use some common kitchen ingredients to extract DNA from our own cells — DNA that you CAN see.
Discussion: How does today’s understanding of genetics affect what was previously thought possible in Frankenstein? What role does genetic engineering play in today’s scientific world? Students can engage in thought-provoking discussions about ethics and the implications of scientific discoveries.
4. Chemistry and Alchemy:
Science Concepts: Chemical reactions, early chemistry, and the history of science.
Lesson Idea: Victor Frankenstein studied alchemy before shifting to chemistry, which mirrors the real-life historical transition from alchemy to modern science. Students explore how Dr. Frankenstein's idea was flawed because he didn’t understand that life relies on complex cellular processes—like respiration, energy production, and metabolism—that can’t be restarted once cells die and begin to break down. Life’s more than just flipping the on switch with a bolt of lightning!
Activity: Teach students about the chemical processes that control life, including metabolism and biochemistry. Heat things up with simple chemical processes, such as exothermic reactions, and incorporate them into your exothermic crystallization and supersaturation lessons. Victor Frankenstein would have misunderstood these concepts since thermodynamics and energy transfer principles were not fully understood in his time.
Discussion: What scientific misconceptions did alchemists like Dr. Frankenstein have about the nature of life and death? How do modern chemical processes explain life at a cellular level?
5. Physics and Energy:
Science Concepts: Energy, electricity, and the conservation of energy.
Lesson Idea: Frankenstein’s use of electricity to animate the creature can lead to discussions of how energy works in physics. What forms of energy are necessary to sustain life, and how is energy transferred or converted?
Activity: Use the Building Energy Transfer Systems activity to explore the concept of energy conservation with experiments involving potential and kinetic energy, circuits, or electromagnetism.
Discussion: Could Victor Frankenstein really use lightning or electricity to bring biological organisms to life? What forms of energy do living beings use, and how are these forms of energy created and sustained in biological systems?
6. Scientific Method and Critical Thinking:
Science Concepts: Ask Questions, Research, Hypothesize, Experiment, Analyze, Share.
Lesson Idea: Use Frankenstein’s lack of planning and reflection to teach the importance of the scientific method. His rush to succeed without proper testing and peer review led to disastrous results (not counting the lovable and comical version of the monster in the movie Young Frankenstein), proving the need for careful scientific inquiry.
Activity: Use Ward’s Engage Kits to outline an experiment they could conduct, emphasizing the steps of the scientific method, including hypothesis, method, testing, and peer review. Dr. Frankenstein could have at least run his hypothesis by his mentor, Dr. Waldman, a chemistry professor at Ingolstadt University.
Discussion: What did Frankenstein skip in his scientific process that led to his failure? How would following the scientific method have helped prevent the catastrophic results?
Using the infamous Frankenstein to teach science makes the subject more engaging and integrates literature and history into science lessons. Whether discussing bioelectricity, human anatomy, genetics, or the scientific method, students can examine how science works (and sometimes fails), connecting fiction to real-world scientific challenges. Science will truly come alive in the classroom—It’s alive!
