Life-Maker-Space: Creating a hands-on environment for Undergraduate Biology Education & Next-Gen STEM Training through innovative design and Community Engagement

University Of Puget Sound, Tacoma WA

Investigators

Abstract

The goal of the Life-Maker-Space incubator network is to create a unique learning environment for undergraduates to have a concept-to-creation-to-community experience, where they will learn biological principles in the classroom, design experiments to test hypotheses, prototype solutions for innovative ideas and create tools for implementation. Student learning will go beyond the classroom and involve engagement with the community and local schools to foster active exchange of resources, skills and experiences. This environment will be created through access to equipment from 3D-Printers to small electronics, via community-based workshops with designers, engineers and scientists, and opportunities to prototype designs developed in classrooms. Maker-Spaces has been shown to encourage the drive for innovation and the production of novel tools. This Life-Maker-Space will provide a novel way to engage students in life-science education, where they will be exposed to hands-on innovation, design practices and technology. Undergraduate biology students will be provided with opportunities to work on real world applications through nuanced problem solving while collaborating with a wide range of people ranging from designers to engineers and community members. Undergraduates will learn to explain concepts to as well as collaborate with and mentor younger counterparts. This initiative will bring scientific work to the larger community and allow young students to interact with a non-academic audience in a "safe" environment. It will also allow students to think about how science fits within the larger context of the community. A collaborative effort by the University of Puget Sound, the Tacoma Art Museum and the Science and Math Institute, The Life-Maker-Space will be a place where undergraduate and K-12 students can become innovators - applying their life-science knowledge towards developing novel instrumentation, prototypes and technologies that are affordable, educational and scalable. A shared space is envisioned where young life scientists will learn alongside engineers, designers and artists; an open space where knowledge and resources will be shared with the partners, local schools and the community; an innovative space - where new ideas will be tested and implemented. This project is being jointly funded by the Directorate for Biological Sciences and the Directorate for Education and Human Resources, Division of Undergraduate Education as part of their efforts to address the challenges posed in Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action (http://visionandchange/finalreport/).