Seattle HiveBio Community Lab. Hackerspace and Youth

ORIGINAL: Microryza

KATRIONA GUTHRIE-HONEA | BERGEN MCMURRAY

Katriona Guthrie-Honea

BERGEN MCMURRAY

Our society leaves the talent of youth unharnessed. We place a higher emphasis on age than innovation. Some of the best ideas in our day and age stemmed from “kids” who still get excited with new ideas. We need to encourage innovation, giving more opportunities for young people to explore their ideas, rather than telling them to wait “until they’re older”.

Everyone has memories of being told, “because grown-ups know best”. That galled me as a 6-year-old, and it only festered with time. Science fair projects based on friction seem fun for 11-year-olds, but no one’s supposed to even think about fission until long after college. When I started looking for lab prospects last summer, the dearth of opportunities for youth shocked me. Even in Seattle with a huge pool of biotech companies, only one summer biotech program existed for teens. One woman even told me, “You have a great idea, but you often seem to forget you’re only a high school student.” Science depends on new ideas competing for novelty, because being the second person to invent the iPod doesn’t really matter. their ideas, rather than telling them to wait “until they’re older”.

Clearly then, people with ideas need to be encouraged, no matter their age. People under 21 have sparked some of the leading innovations in our time. Facebook stemmed from college fiddlings. Bill Gates cofounded Microsoft at 19, and started programming in middle school. Yet our society keeps youth waiting until years after college before they are supposed to pursue with ideas. Entrepreneurs I met while networking, like Cindy Wu of Microryza and Matthew Scholz of Immusoft helped inspire me to follow my dreams, encouraging me to apply for the Thiel Fellowship. But I’m one of few. For the rest, society must nurture innovation from a young age. their ideas, rather than telling them to wait “until they’re older”.

We need to encourage young people to share their ideas, and when they’re good enough, work hard to turn them into something. Furthermore, we need opportunities for young people to actually have access to new technology – to work with their ideas and experiment. Public School science mostly consists of a few pathetic kits, and uninterested teachers. It shows kids that science equals baking soda and vinegar or boring, outdated textbooks, just when they start to find their interest. their ideas, rather than telling them to wait “until they’re older”.

Hackerspaces like Noisebridge in San Francisco help to inspire innovation, but we need places all over the country. Hackerspace, community spaces allowing for experimentation without formal background, exist for computer science, but are blaringly absent for Biology and other, less technology orientated sciences. By setting up places where people can work on their ideas without having it as their formal “work”, people start to innovate. These environments help to obviate the concept of failure, which is essential for innovation. People can test out their ideas without the threat of high-pressure venture capitalists breathing down their necks. And most importantly, people can start on their ideas right away, without trudging through a fifteen-year system of school, and entry-level jobs. their ideas, rather than telling them to wait “until they’re older”.

Youth have untapped potential to change the world – if only given a chance. I refuse to accept the fact that I can’t come up with ideas, or start a business because I’m “still a kid”. The enthusiasm of youth kindles innovation and fuels passion, but ideas aren’t considered without a degree and thirty years of age. We encourage every child to play sports, but we need scientists much more than one more NFL player.. The ideas around youth need to change, and more opportunities for them to explore their ideas need to be created. We need creativity safe havens for ideas to prosper and grow. Not just for them, but for the sake America’s place in the world. their ideas, rather than telling them to wait “until they’re older”.

With Regards,

Katriona

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Currently, it is nearly impossible for a bioscience enthusiast to gain hands-on experience in a lab without a formal science degree. This requires a level of income that creates an inappropriate gap between means and access to education. In addition, science education in US schools is often ineffective. The existence of a DIYbioscience lab opens up opportunities to both adults and children that they would otherwise not have. DIYbio spaces are present in almost every major city in the US. Seattle is one of the few cities with a big biotech industry lacking a community lab space.

What are the goals of this project?

We are opening a community-run DIY bioscience lab. The lab will be open to all individuals regardless of science education background. A major component of this lab will be science tutelage.

Why is this research important?

Many people are still afraid of biotech, especially DIY bio! We want to help expose it to the community and show how not all biotech workers want to start World War 3. In addition, we want to challenge the current standard that bioscience only belongs in the hands of a few highly trained individuals. We believe that putting the tools of science in the hands of citizen scientist supports true innovation.

How will the funds be used?

In order to reach our goal we require the necessary equipment, disposables and chemicals for our work. We also need to acquire level 1 lab certification and meet with a lab facilities expert in order to ensure the safety of the lab. 

Thankfully, we have already received donations of equipment and disposables and a professional lab facilities expert has offered a donation of her time to help us achieve safety standards. What we require at this time is the financial assistance of the community to help us secure the lab space, purchase the necessary chemicals and produce marketing materials.

Katriona Guthrie-Honea

Seattle DIY Bio Community

Affiliations

Background

We are located in Seattle, WA. The project is headed by Bergen McMurray (Co-Director) and Katriona Guthrie-Honea (Co-Director). Bergen is a student of neuroscience and has worked with the Allen Institute for Brain Science and Jigsaw Renaissance. Katriona is a student at Ingraham High School and an intern at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. P.S. Photo accreditation goes to www.biology101.org, and lofaesofa from Flickr

• Utilities $900
• Advertising $200
• Extra Disposables $100
• 6 Months of Rent $3,900

Budget

6 × $650 for 1 month of rent = $3,900 6 × $150 for utilities = $900 $100 for extra disposables $200 for advertising Total = $5,100 

In order to reach our goal we require the necessary equipment, disposables and chemicals for our work. We also need to acquire level 1 lab certification and meet with a lab facilities expert in order to ensure the safety of the lab. Thankfully, we have already received donations of equipment and disposables and a professional lab facilities expert has offered a donation of her time to help us achieve safety standards. What we require at this time is the financial assistance of the community to help us secure the lab space, purchase the necessary chemicals and produce marketing materials.

Many people are still afraid of biotech, especially DIY bio! We want to help expose it to the community and show how not all biotech workers want to start World War 3. In addition, we want to challenge the current standard that bioscience only belongs in the hands of a few highly trained individuals. We believe that putting the tools of science in the hands of citizen scientist supports true innovation. Read more on Katriona's blog and our website!