Build-a-Genome excites students!
- It introduces students to the cutting edge field of synthetic biology, where scientists act more like engineers to build and reconfigure natural systems using DNA "parts". Synthetic biology has three phases: Design of a System, Building a System, and Testing a System; BAG lets students experience all three. Watch a short introductory video on synthetic biology for an overview of the field.
- It builds fluency with particular lab techniques through repetition; this level of proficiency builds students' confidence in their skills as scientists
"We tackled the problems one day at a time and had to think very hard every step of the way, constantly problem solving”
"We didn’t know what to expect or if what we were doing would work. We used basic techniques to find something new.”
"Involves learning from mistakes"
- It introduce students to authentic research through troubleshooting of unsuccessful experiments; this can profoundly alter how they understand the research process
"Previously unaware how research is a large collaborative effort"
"It did not go as smoothly/quickly as I thought research was"
"It's about what I expected..disappointment of failure affected me more, but it made the success that much better."