Tools for Biomakers
Yasmin B. Kafai, Justice Toshiba Walker · 2020
While many digital or physical tools and construction kits have been developed for young makers, far fewer developments have focused on making with living materials, at DNA and cellular scales. In this paper, we review the affordances of various hands-on simulation tools and wet labs for K-12-aged biomakers to be used in school, home and science centers. We discuss how making with biology requires broadened conceptualizations of perceptibility, tinkerability, expressivity, and usability---features commonly considered in the research and design of digital and physical maker media. We conclude with a discussion of affordances and challenges we see in the current generation of tools and labs for supporting making with biology and in which ways these can be expanded to support learning, collaboration, and creativity that are valued in maker education.