engineering

The Building with Biology kit is designed to help museum and scientist partners engage public audiences in conversations and hands-on activities about the field of synthetic biology and the ways this emerging technology is interconnected with society.

In "Exploring the Solar System: Design, Build, Test," participants will imagine a scientific mission to space, draw inspiration from existing spacecraft, and then design and build their own simple model spacecraft to accomplish the goals of their mission. After assembling...

The Engineering is Elementary after-school modules were developed as part of the Engineering is Everywhere project, an engineering curriculum for middle school-aged youth in afterschool and camp programs. Engineering Everywhere empowers youth to tackle real-world engineering problems using the engineering...

This set of recommended videos created from different sources may be helpful to use for training videos and to provide visitors introductions to synthetic biology, gene editing, and CRISPR.

As gene editing techniques become more refined, the possibility of editing the human genome is moving from science fiction to reality. In this forum, participants have a chance to discuss the future of human genome editing and important concerns for...

Space telescopes can offer us better, clearer views of the universe (and of our own planet) than Earth-based telescopes can, but getting these large, delicate pieces of equipment into orbit is tricky. In "Exploring the Universe: Pack a Space Telescope,"...

In "Exploring the Solar System: Stomp Rockets," participants learn about how some rockets carry science tools—not scientists—into space, and how a special kind of rocket called "sounding rockets" can be used for quick, low-flying scientific missions into space. Participants will...

In "Exploring the Solar System: Mars Rovers," participants learn about how scientists and engineers use robotic rovers and other vehicles to explore distant worlds, and experience some of the challenges and teamwork required to navigate a rover across the surface...

To help support Summer 2016 Building with Biology event host sites, we're offering several upcoming professional development opportunities for host site staff, volunteers, and scientists. Online workshops will provide an overview on public forums, the contents in the Building with...

New tools—like "CRISPR"—are making it possible to edit DNA with great precision. Soon, we will be able to accurately alter targeted sections of the genome of other animals and plants, as well as our own DNA. But should we? In...

Welcome to the Building with Biology project! The evaluation letter contained here explains both the required and optional reporting of your Building with Biology event, and includes links to further online resources and contact information for any questions you might...

These materials will help prepare you, your staff, and your event volunteers for a successful and engaging Building with Biology event. Included are the event orientation presentation (with notes) and the tips for conversations reference sheet.

This page contains all the logos and specifications for making your own Building with Biology event and marketing materials. Each logo comes in jpg, png, and AI file formats.

Here is a selection of NISE Net Building with Biology press photos! Please use these images for marketing Building with Biology events, and in creating other related materials. These photos are free for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0...

These files contain digital copies of a wide variety of promotional materials for your Building with Biology event. They include multiple formats of ready-to-print and customizable ads, posters, and banners. Collections of sample press photos and Building with Biology logos...

This is a collection of colorful, printable reference sheets on the basics of synthetic biology and related fields of study. Using illustrations and simple language, the sheets describe the essentials of genes and DNA, traditional agricultural breeding, genetic engineering, and...

These stickers can be used at your Building with Biology event to help visitors identify scientist volunteers. Each sticker says "I'm a scientist," and invites visitors to ask the wearer how they are building with biology. (Spanish versions also available.)

These "passports" can be used at your Building with Biology event to help visitors keep track of everything they've done there—they can collect stamps to mark when they've talked to a scientist, asked a question about synthetic biology, shared an...

This is a detailed guide for planning and promoting your Building with Biology event. The guide covers each step of preparing for your event, recruiting and training volunteers and scientist partners, facilitating conversations during the event, and evaluating the event...

This welcome letter will introduce you to the Building with Biology kit, walking you through the contents of the physical and digital kits, as well as the basics of museum-scientist collaborations and the reporting/evaluation requirements for recipients of physical kits....

This is a set of printable materials for your Building with Biology events. These materials invite visitors to imagine all the ways that new technologies and techniques of synthetic biology could affect their lives, now and in the future. Visitors...

These colorful, printable posters introduce visitors to the principles of synthetic biology. One shows synthetic biologists at work, and the other features the student teams at the 2014 International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) synthetic biology competition.

This is a Building with Biology forum in which participants have a chance to learn about a synthetic biology topic and then engage in a guided conversation and make a plan of action. In this case, the participants are both...

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...

In this Building with Biology activity, visitors consider the potential advantages and disadvantages of various areas of synthetic biology research, before investing in them with "tech tokens." Then, visitors assume the role of a different character, and consider how that...