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Tribune News Network
Doha
A new academic outreach programme at Texas A&M University at Qatar (Tamuq) turned the spotlight on agriculture science to help schoolchildren in Qatar understand where food comes from and how to optimise food produced from animals.
The new programme was presented during a couple of two-day sessions, the first for students in grades 4 and 5 from four Qatar Foundation schools, and the second for students of grades 7 and 8. The programme was led by Dr Kathrin Dunlap, an animal science instructional associate professor from Texas A&M University’s main campus in College Station, Texas.
Based on Dunlap’s work relating to food and agriculture, the programme taught students about basic genetics and animal breeding to optimise food production. A session about the digestive process taught students how dairy cattle convert food to milk. The students learned about what kind of food to give cattle, the molecular properties of milk, processes to convert milk to cheese and other products. They also evaluated nine different types of cheese and their physical properties to discover for themselves the scope of what one product — in this case, milk — can yield. In addition to the product evaluations and tests, they also took part in experiments which included gel electrophoresis for visualising DNA and separating milk products into various types of proteins.
A participant, Khalifa Thamer, said, “We did a lot of experiments where we added dye to milk and took samples to see its different components. We also learned how to calculate the fat and proteins found in milk and their importance. We ended the workshop by doing a product evaluation of different types of cheese based on the technique used to make it.”
Dunlap said the program focused on dairy specifically because Qatar has quickly closed the gap in dairy production since the blockade began and also due to the strong social link to dairy products. “All students here are familiar with the blockade of Qatar and the branding of Qatar-made products on store shelves,” Dunlap said.
Dr César Octavio Malavé, dean of Tamuq, said the food science workshop was one of many STEM programmes offered by the branch campus to generate interest among school students in science-related topics.
Doha
A new academic outreach programme at Texas A&M University at Qatar (Tamuq) turned the spotlight on agriculture science to help schoolchildren in Qatar understand where food comes from and how to optimise food produced from animals.
The new programme was presented during a couple of two-day sessions, the first for students in grades 4 and 5 from four Qatar Foundation schools, and the second for students of grades 7 and 8. The programme was led by Dr Kathrin Dunlap, an animal science instructional associate professor from Texas A&M University’s main campus in College Station, Texas.
Based on Dunlap’s work relating to food and agriculture, the programme taught students about basic genetics and animal breeding to optimise food production. A session about the digestive process taught students how dairy cattle convert food to milk. The students learned about what kind of food to give cattle, the molecular properties of milk, processes to convert milk to cheese and other products. They also evaluated nine different types of cheese and their physical properties to discover for themselves the scope of what one product — in this case, milk — can yield. In addition to the product evaluations and tests, they also took part in experiments which included gel electrophoresis for visualising DNA and separating milk products into various types of proteins.
A participant, Khalifa Thamer, said, “We did a lot of experiments where we added dye to milk and took samples to see its different components. We also learned how to calculate the fat and proteins found in milk and their importance. We ended the workshop by doing a product evaluation of different types of cheese based on the technique used to make it.”
Dunlap said the program focused on dairy specifically because Qatar has quickly closed the gap in dairy production since the blockade began and also due to the strong social link to dairy products. “All students here are familiar with the blockade of Qatar and the branding of Qatar-made products on store shelves,” Dunlap said.
Dr César Octavio Malavé, dean of Tamuq, said the food science workshop was one of many STEM programmes offered by the branch campus to generate interest among school students in science-related topics.
