Bioluminescence!

Bioluminescence - the ability of living organisms to create light - has evolved independently in nature at least half a dozen times. We'll talk about some of the amazing light producing creatures out there - from squid with symbiotic bacteria, to fireflies and mushrooms - the biochemistries they use, and how we can hack them ourselves!

http://www.njaudubon.org/portals/10/Education/Images/Joes_Nature/main_firefly.jpg

We'll also show off the sparkly glow of the bioluminescent algae that we've been growing, and discuss how to build a DIY grow box for them. Bring a clean water bottle, and you can go home with your very own glow-in-the-dark "dinos" - they make great pets!

http://www.fahrenheitmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/glowigwaves03-620x300.jpg?dce4c2

Bioluminescence makes for great DIYbio projects, with tons of bioart and biomedical applications. If there's enough interest in the topic, maybe we'll start up a community project that we can all collaborate on...

http://www.blackjungleterrariumsupply.com/assets/images/glowmushrooms.jpg