Our activity aims to give the students a basic explanation of microfluidics and then push them to test this understanding through designing their own synbio chip using cardboard primitives.

The event opened with a video explaining the basics of synthetic biology and how it impacts the world we live in. Following this, the girls broke off into smaller groups and rotated between the different activities planned for the day.

Our activity began with a discussion of what microfluidics are and how our work can aid research in synthetic biology. Although we were limited to ten minutes, the student’s curiosity pushed us to explain microfluidics in way that was simple but did not lose the potential and universal applicability of the hardware.

Next, we handed out two synbio protocols, cardboard primitives and a primitive key. The students immediately began working on translating protocols to microfluidic chips and created a variety of creative designs. While the students worked, we engaged with each group individually answering questions, discussing designs and challenging them to include features such as shared inputs or valves geometries.

During this time we were also able to ask the students what opinions or thoughts they had regarding microfluidics and their applications in the wider world. Many students were intrigued by the possibility of automating basic experiments they performed in class as well as applications in medical diagnostics, chemistry and pharmaceuticals. Some students were curious about our manufacturing process and how we were able to prototype and fabricate chips at a fast rate. After hearing our breakdown of the process and the relative prices of our equipment, some girls were excited about the possibility of setting up a chip manufacturing space in their high school. The student’s excitement about our hardware and its various potential applications illustrated to us how our project can go on to impact synthetic biologists in the future.