Team:Arizona State/Outreach/Exploring Synthetic Biology

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This curriculum is tailored to high school students with a strong background in biology and who are currently enrolled in an advanced biology or biotechnology course at their high school. Access to a biotechnology lab is preferred.

A) Meeting One: An Introduction to Synthetic Biology

[http://prezi.com/bqt1cvldirvh/exploring-synthetic-biology-part-1/ Ready-to-use Introductory Presentation]

1. Explain our reason for coming in and talking to the class
2. Introduce the team and iGEM competition
3. Ask some questions to the class (What interests you about biology? If you could create an organism to do anything you want, what would you make? etc.)
4. Introduction to Synthetic Biology

   • What is synbio?
   • Why is it a relatively new field?
   • Biobricks – what they are and why they’re useful
   • Other resources (Journals, [http://www.nature.com/scitable Scitable], etc)

5. Talk about the High School division of the iGEM competition
6. Talk about creating a biotechnology journal club that could turn into an iGEM team

B) Meeting Two: Ethics and Safety in Synthetic Biology

1. [http://openwetware.org/wiki/IGEM_Outreach:Ethics_of_Synthetic_Biology Cornell University’s Ethics in SynBio Lesson Plan]

   • Show the Colbert Report Interview - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks as a multimedia aspect of the presentation.

2. Introduction to the iGEM website, Parts Registry, and Open Wet Ware.
3. Talk about Lab Safety in SynBio

C) Meeting Three: Lab Techniques in Synthetic Biology:

1. Ask students what kind of techniques they’ve used in their school labs during class
2. Introduction to Basic Techniques in Synthetic Biology
3. Lab demonstration