DESCRIPTION
In this Building with Biology activity, visitors explore the potential for engineered viruses to deliver beneficial, targeted genetic information to sites throughout the body, and discuss their hopes and concerns regarding this technology. Visitors create a model of the technology by combining multiple strands of yarn (DNA) and placing them in takeout containers covered in instructions (viruses' protein shells, or capsids).
DESCRIPTION
In this Building with Biology activity, visitors explore the potential for engineered viruses to deliver beneficial, targeted genetic information to sites throughout the body, and discuss their hopes and concerns regarding this technology. Visitors create a model of the technology by combining multiple strands of yarn (DNA) and placing them in takeout containers covered in instructions (viruses' protein shells, or capsids).
TRAINING VIDEOS
OBJECTIVES
BIG IDEA
Synthetic biology generates new tools and knowledge. Synthetic biology is interconnected with society.
LEARNING GOALS
Synthetic biologists solve problems by applying engineering principles to the life sciences.
Researchers in the field of synthetic biology are engineering viruses to help treat diseases.
Synthetic biology benefits from many voices.
DOWNLOAD FILES
- VirEx - activity guide (DOCX)
- VirEx - activity guide (PDF)
- VirEx - facilitator guide (DOCX)
- VirEx - facilitator guide (PDF)
- VirEx - structure of a virus illustration (PDF)
- VirEx - sign (PDF)
- Genes and DNA reference sheet (PDF)
- Synthetic biology reference sheet (PDF)
- VirEx - kit materials (JPG)
- VirEx - activity guide (Spanish) (DOCX)
- VirEx - activity guide (Spanish) (PDF)
- VirEx - structure of a virus illustration (Spanish) (PDF)
- VirEx - sign (Spanish) (PDF)
- Genes and DNA reference sheet (Spanish) (PDF)
- Synthetic biology reference sheet (Spanish) (PDF)
Credits
Children’s Museum of Houston and the Museum of Science
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number DRL 1421179. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike 3.0 United States (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US).
View more details
NISE Network products are developed through an iterative collaborative process that includes scientific review, peer review, and visitor evaluation in accordance with an inclusive audiences approach. Products are designed to be easily edited and adapted for different audiences under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike license. To learn more, visit our Development Process page.