As the field of synthetic biology expands, the need to
grow and
train science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) practitioners
is essential. However, the lack of access to hands-on demonstrations
has led to inequalities of opportunity and practice. In addition,
there is a gap in providing content that enables students to make
their own bioengineered systems. To address these challenges, we develop
four shelf-stable cell-free biosensing educational modules that work
by simply adding water and DNA to freeze-dried crude extracts of non-pathogenic Escherichia coli. We introduce activities and supporting
curricula to teach the structure and function of the lac operon, dose-responsive behavior, considerations for biosensor outputs,
and a “build-your-own” activity for monitoring environmental
contaminants in water. We piloted these modules with K-12 teachers
and 130 high-school students in their classroomsand at homewithout
professional laboratory equipment. This work promises to catalyze
access to interactive synthetic biology education opportunities.