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Welcome to SynBio & Me, a collaborative project led by the University of Maryland, Loyola University Maryland, and the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC).

SynBio & Me engages middle school youth and their families in culturally responsive BioMaker activities that introduce synthetic biology concepts through hands-on learning in informal settings. Led by researchers and community-based organizations in El Paso, Texas, and Baltimore, Maryland, the project uses participatory co-design approaches to ensure activities reflect community values, priorities, and lived experiences.

As part of a three-year NSF AISL-funded initiative (Award #2415876), SynBio & Me brings together researchers, educators, families, and community partners to collaboratively design meaningful, accessible, and community-centered learning experiences.

Through workshops, co-design sessions, and family-centered learning opportunities, the project explores how culturally responsive learning, intergenerational dialogue, and community partnerships can broaden participation in STEM and advance research in informal science learning.

Our Mission:

To engage youth and families in culturally responsive synthetic biology learning experiences through community-centered biomaking and co-design.

1. Implement and study BioMaker learning experiences.

Facilitate and research engaging BioMaker activities that support synthetic biology learning and STEM participation.

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Collaboratively create hands-on learning experiences that reflect community values, culture, and creativity.

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2. Co-design culturally responsive BioMaker activities.
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3. Investigate intergenerational learning and engagement.

Explore how youth and families learn, communicate, and engage with synthetic biology together.

OUR JOURNEY

A two-year process of co-design and prototyping with families, educators, and community partners.

We listened, learned,
and imagined together. Through workshops and conversations, we identified what our communities need and value.

Co-Design

YEAR 1

PILOTING

YEAR 2

We prototyped, tested, and refined hands-on synthetic biology activities that are fun and meaningful, in different settings.

Explore Our Activities

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Agar Art

is a creative activity that uses agar commonly used to grow microorganisms, as a canvas for artistic expression. Participants “paint” or design on agar plates using microbes or pigments to explore the connection between biology, creativity, and science.

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BioString

is a hands-on biomaterials activity where participants create flexible, string-like materials using alginate and calcium solutions. The activity explores how natural materials and biological processes can be transformed into sustainable designs inspired by synthetic biology and biomaterials research.

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Mycelium

is the root-like network of fungi that grows underground or inside organic materials. In synthetic biology and biomaterials, mycelium can be used to create sustainable products such as biodegradable packaging, building materials, and leather-like fabrics.

Community-based Organization Partners

University Partners

SynBio & Me collaborates with leading academic institutions to co-create culturally responsive STEM activities and explore equitable futures for our youth.

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Infinite Transformations in a Suitcase: A Bioart Homage to Cultural Resilience

Hamidi, F., Dusman, L., & Boot, L.

Understanding and engaging with cultural practices that respond to change and resist oppression are increasingly relevant to critical design in and beyond HCI. While these areas of exploration are no stranger to the practices of bioart and biodesign that draw on the cultural, aesthetic, and practical affordances of living organisms to engage audiences and users in reflection and cultural production, they are less familiar in HCI and computing. In recent years, increased access to low-cost synthetic biology tools and techniques has made it easier for non-experts, including those trained in computing but not biology, to experiment with modifying living organisms for creative and artistic purposes, including at the molecular DNA level. Infinite Transformations in a Suitcase is a multimedia installation that uses bioart, visual art, and music strategies to create a meditative space inviting reflection on the resilience of culture. At its center is a glass of poetry-infused wine created using genetically modified yeast cells whose DNA contains an encoded 14th-century Sufi poem by Hafiz of Shiraz, surrounded by video of it being written in Farsi calligraphy. By combining multiple embodied and abstract poetic elements, the installation invites the audience to reflect on the materiality and movement of culture.

COMPASS ’25

[PDF]

[ACM]

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Infinite Transformations in a Suitcase: Encountering Human-DNA Interaction through Poetry-infused Wine

Hamidi, F., Dusman, L., & Boot, L.

Interacting with materials, including biological and living materials, that embody computation and information has increasingly been of interest to the TEI community. In recent years, increased access to low-cost synthetic biology tools and techniques has made it easier for non-experts to experiment with modifying living organisms for creative and artistic purposes, including at the molecular DNA level. A challenge has been to create engaging and culturally-mediated experiences to make these human-DNA interactions accessible to diverse audiences. Infinite Transformations in a Suitcase is a multimedia installation that creates a mediative space inviting reflection on the resilience of culture. At its center is a glass of poetry-infused wine created using genetically modified yeast cells whose DNA contains an encoded 14th-century Sufi poem by Hafiz of Shiraz, surrounded by video of it being written in Farsi calligraphy. By combining multiple embodied and abstract poetic elements, the installation invites the audience to reflect on the materiality and movement of culture.

TEI '25

[PDF]

Our Publications

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Our Locations

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