Life-Maker-Space: Creating a hands-on environment for Undergraduate Biology Education & Next-Gen STEM Training through innovative design and Community Engagement

Life-Maker-Space孵化器网络的目标是为本科生创造一个独特的学习环境，让他们有一个从概念到创造到社区的体验，在这里他们将在课堂上学习生物学原理，设计实验来测试假设，为创新想法提供原型解决方案，并创建实施工具。学生的学习将超越课堂，参与社区和当地学校，促进资源、技能和经验的积极交流。这种环境将通过访问从3d打印机到小型电子设备的设备，通过设计师、工程师和科学家的社区研讨会，以及在教室中开发原型设计的机会来创造。创客空间已经被证明可以鼓励创新和新工具的生产。这个生命创造者空间将提供一种新颖的方式，让学生参与生命科学教育，在那里他们将接触到动手创新，设计实践和技术。本科生物学学生将有机会通过细致入微的解决问题，在现实世界中工作，同时与从设计师到工程师和社区成员等广泛的人合作。本科生将学习解释概念，以及与年轻的同行合作和指导。这项计划将把科学工作带到更大的社区，并允许年轻学生在一个“安全”的环境中与非学术观众互动。它还将允许学生思考科学如何适应更大的社会背景。在普吉特海湾大学、塔科马艺术博物馆和科学与数学研究所的共同努力下，生命创造者空间将成为一个本科生和K-12学生成为创新者的地方——将他们的生命科学知识应用于开发价格合理、具有教育意义和可扩展的新型仪器、原型和技术。我们设想了一个共享空间，年轻的生命科学家将与工程师、设计师和艺术家一起学习；一个开放空间，让合作伙伴、当地学校和社区分享知识和资源；一个创新的空间-在那里新的想法将被测试和实施。该项目由生物科学理事会和本科教育司教育和人力资源理事会共同资助，作为其应对《本科生物学教育的愿景与变革：行动呼吁》（http://visionandchange/finalreport/）所提出的挑战的努力的一部分。

The goal of the Life-Maker-Space incubator network is to create a unique learning environment for undergraduates to have a concept-to-creation-to-community experience, where they will learn biological principles in the classroom, design experiments to test hypotheses, prototype solutions for innovative ideas and create tools for implementation. Student learning will go beyond the classroom and involve engagement with the community and local schools to foster active exchange of resources, skills and experiences. This environment will be created through access to equipment from 3D-Printers to small electronics, via community-based workshops with designers, engineers and scientists, and opportunities to prototype designs developed in classrooms.Maker-Spaces has been shown to encourage the drive for innovation and the production of novel tools. This Life-Maker-Space will provide a novel way to engage students in life-science education, where they will be exposed to hands-on innovation, design practices and technology. Undergraduate biology students will be provided with opportunities to work on real world applications through nuanced problem solving while collaborating with a wide range of people ranging from designers to engineers and community members. Undergraduates will learn to explain concepts to as well as collaborate with and mentor younger counterparts. This initiative will bring scientific work to the larger community and allow young students to interact with a non-academic audience in a "safe" environment. It will also allow students to think about how science fits within the larger context of the community. A collaborative effort by the University of Puget Sound, the Tacoma Art Museum and the Science and Math Institute, The Life-Maker-Space will be a place where undergraduate and K-12 students can become innovators - applying their life-science knowledge towards developing novel instrumentation, prototypes and technologies that are affordable, educational and scalable. A shared space is envisioned where young life scientists will learn alongside engineers, designers and artists; an open space where knowledge and resources will be shared with the partners, local schools and the community; an innovative space - where new ideas will be tested and implemented.This project is being jointly funded by the Directorate for Biological Sciences and the Directorate for Education and Human Resources, Division of Undergraduate Education as part of their efforts to address the challenges posed in Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action (http://visionandchange/finalreport/).