Probability is an essential tool for understanding heredity and modern genetics, yet many students have difficulty with this topic due to the abstract and quantitative nature of the subject. To facilitate student learning of probability in genetics, we have developed a set of hands-on, cooperative activities that allow students to determine empirically the probabilities of different combinations of events, and then compare these to theoretically calculated values. Electronic tools that simulate random events can be combined with manipulatives to provide large empirical data sets. These exercises help students understand basic rules of probability, the use of the binomial, and the chi-square test.