Building with Biology: Tech Tokens

TYPE: Short Activities
AUDIENCE: Informal Science Educators
TOPIC: Synthetic Biology
In this activity, learners consider the potential advantages and disadvantages of various areas of synthetic biology research, before investing in them with "tech tokens."
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DESCRIPTION

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 person's synthetic biology priorities and concerns might differ from his or her own. By talking through their decisions, and those of other visitors, players start to see how each person's values determine what technologies are developed and adopted.

In addition to the 2018 cards (English & Spanish), there is a set of bonus 2024 cards (English) with additional synthetic biology technology examples developed by The BioBuilder Educational Foundation (https://biobuilder.org/), a nonprofit that provides curriculum and programs to prepare students for college and careers in life science.

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  • Two learners place tokens on what technology card they value more
  • Learners selecting and reading character cards to understand what technologies might be more important to the character
  • Hands sorting tokens to signify which technology is most important to them
  • The "Synthetic Fragrances" card from the new set, includes large image of flowers and essential oils on top of two smaller images, one of lab equipment and someone in a cleanroom suit, another just two hands applying perfume to the wrist
  • The "Bioengineered Apparel" card from the new set of Tech Token cards, shows three images: two leather/synthetic leather wallets, two beaks with brown and gold powder inside, and two women wearing similar shades of browns and gold
  • The "Engineered Foods" card from the new set of Bio Bistro cards, shows three images: a scientist in a field, a fish underwater, and a closeup of grapes on the vine
  • Two learners place tokens on what technology card they value more
  • Learners selecting and reading character cards to understand what technologies might be more important to the character
  • Hands sorting tokens to signify which technology is most important to them
  • The "Synthetic Fragrances" card from the new set, includes large image of flowers and essential oils on top of two smaller images, one of lab equipment and someone in a cleanroom suit, another just two hands applying perfume to the wrist
  • The "Bioengineered Apparel" card from the new set of Tech Token cards, shows three images: two leather/synthetic leather wallets, two beaks with brown and gold powder inside, and two women wearing similar shades of browns and gold
  • The "Engineered Foods" card from the new set of Bio Bistro cards, shows three images: a scientist in a field, a fish underwater, and a closeup of grapes on the vine

DESCRIPTION

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 person's synthetic biology priorities and concerns might differ from his or her own. By talking through their decisions, and those of other visitors, players start to see how each person's values determine what technologies are developed and adopted.

In addition to the 2018 cards (English & Spanish), there is a set of bonus 2024 cards (English) with additional synthetic biology technology examples developed by The BioBuilder Educational Foundation (https://biobuilder.org/), a nonprofit that provides curriculum and programs to prepare students for college and careers in life science.

JUMP TO BROWSE RELATED RESOURCES

TRAINING VIDEOS

OBJECTIVES

BIG IDEA

Synthetic biology is interconnected with society.

LEARNING GOALS

  • Technologies and society are interconnected.

  • People’s values determine which technologies are developed and used.

  • Synthetic biology benefits from many voices.

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TYPE:
Educational Resources
AUDIENCE:
Ages 7 - Adult
LANGUAGES:
English Spanish
ADDITIONAL TOPICS: Life Sciences Synthetic Biology Societal Topics Science and Society
KIT: Building with Biology full color squared logo featuring illustrations of DNA, a gear and a set of pliers Browse kit
KEYWORDS:

Credits

YEAR CREATED
2016
PROJECT
OWNING INSTITUTION

Science Museum of Minnesota and Museum of Science

FUNDING

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number DRL 1421179.  Any opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

PERMISSIONS

Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike 3.0 United States (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US).
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DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

NISE Network products are developed through an iterative collaborative process that includes scientific review, peer review, and visitor evaluation in accordance with an inclusive audiences approach. Products are designed to be easily edited and adapted for different audiences under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike license. To learn more, visit our Development Process page.