EAGER: MAKER: bioMAKERlab: A Wetlab and Starter Activities for Promoting Synthetic Biology in High School Classes and Workshops

该项目将为高中学生和教师提供一个真实但安全的环境来学习和扩大他们对合成生物学在个人、健康和食品生产等生物工程中的作用的理解和观点，并提高他们对STEM的兴趣，从而使合成生物学活动更容易接触到他们。bioMAKERlab的设计将产生一个现有合成生物学专业级实验室的教育版本，以促进安全生产，可及性，并为有兴趣将此类湿实验室活动整合到其课程中的高中和社区学院提供可负担性。目前，为了扩大K-12学生参与创客活动的机会，大多数努力都集中在开发协作制造工作空间（fablabs）上，包括3D打印机、激光切割机和其他数字和传统工具。该项目将开发和实施bioMAKERlab，这是一个创新的湿实验室入门工具包和活动，将使高中生和教师能够通过构建基因电路来参与合成生物学，使微生物改变颜色、气味和形状。在合成生物学中，参与者一个基因一个基因地制造自己的DNA，然后将他们的设计植入微生物中，形成基因提供的不同特征和特征，从而将其发展为实际应用。该项目将包括费城一所公立高中的学生和参加周末在费城科学博物馆富兰克林研究所举办的研讨会的年轻人。该项目是美国国家科学基金会“制造者致同事信”项目（NSF 15-086）的一部分，该项目是计算机与信息科学与工程、教育与人力资源以及工程部门的合作投资。

This project will make synthetic biology activities accessible to high school students and teachers by providing them with an authentic but safe context to learn and broaden their understanding and perspectives of the role of synthetic biology in bioengineering in personal, health, and food production contexts as well as raise their interest in STEM. The design of bioMAKERlab will generate an educational version of an existing professional-grade lab for synthetic biology to promote safe production, accessibility, and affordability for high schools and community colleges interested in integrating such wetlab activities into their curriculum.Most current efforts to broaden access to maker activities for K-12 students have focused on developing collaborative fabrication workspaces (fablabs) involving 3D printers, laser cutters, and other digital and traditional tools. This project will develop and implement bioMAKERlab, an innovative wetlab starter kit and activities that will enable high school students and teachers to engage in synthetic biology by building genetic circuits that let microorganisms change color, smell, and shape. In synthetic biology, participants make their own DNA--gene by gene--and then grow their designs into real applications by inserting them into microorganisms to develop different traits and characteristics provided by the genes. The project will involve students from a Philadelphia public high school and young people participating in weekend workshops at The Franklin Institute, a Philadelphia-based science museum.This project is a part of NSF's Maker Dear Colleague Letter portfolio (NSF 15-086), a collaborative investment of Directorates for Computer & Information Science & Engineering, Education and Human Resources, and Engineering.