@BOSLab | Boston Open Science Laboratory

Paint / Sip / Glow (Create Glowing Living Art)
A paint-and-sip night where your paint is alive. Wine, friends, and art made with glowing microbes. 21+.
It's paint-and-sip with a twist: instead of acrylics, your paint is a rainbow of tiny living microbes. You sketch your design, dab them onto a petri dish, and over the next few days they grow, multiply, and bloom into a glowing finished piece.
You drink. You paint. They do the rest.
It's weirdly beautiful. You'll want photos. We've got you.

How it works

• Before class: We email you templates so you can sketch your design at home. Bring it in, or freestyle when you arrive.
• At the lab (2 hours): Wine in one hand, microbes in the other. It's simpler than it sounds. A quick crash course gets you started, then experienced instructors circulate to give personal advice and help bring your design to life.
• The next few days: Your microbes keep growing, slowly producing color and revealing your design.
• Three to four days later: We send you high-resolution photos of your finished piece, ready to post, print, or frame. You're also welcome to stop by BOSLab to see the original glowing in person.

What you'll walk away with
Photos of your finished art for your wall, your feed, or your next gift. A genuinely strange and lovely story for your next dinner party. Easily the most unusual thing on your camera roll.

Good for
Date night. Friends night. Birthday gatherings. Solo welcome.

The space
BOSLab is a friendly nonprofit community lab in Somerville. The microbes are safe, the lab is comfortable, and everything you need is provided.

Logistics

• When: Thursday, May 28, 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
• Where: BOSLab, 561 Windsor St, Suite B405 (The Hive at Boynton Yards), Somerville, MA 02143, 4th floor. Accessible by elevator. Near Kendall/MIT Red Line with shuttle service.
• Ages: 21+ event
• Price: $25 per person. Early-bird $20.
• Drinks: One complimentary drink included (wine, soda, and others on hand). BYOB welcome.
• Group size: Capped at 11 for a small, hands-on experience.
• Bring: Just yourself. Wear something you don't mind getting a little messy.
• Registration: Sign up through this Meetup.

SYNBIO101: Introduction to Biohacking
Hack DNA. Build cells. Engineer life. Two Saturdays of real lab work for curious teens.

Synthetic biology is how scientists program living cells to do new things: produce medicine, glow in the dark, detect pollutants, build materials. In this two-session class, you'll do it yourself, in a real lab, with real equipment. No experience needed. Just curiosity.

You won't be watching. At this age, most classes let students help with the easy steps while the instructor handles the science. Not here. You load the pipette. You handle the cells. You add the DNA. You plate the results. Instructors are at your bench to coach, not to take over.

What you'll do
Session 1: Build & Transform (Sat May 30th, 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM)

• Get briefed on synthetic biology and lab safety
• Run your own bacterial transformation: insert new DNA into living E. coli, step by step, with instructors coaching at your bench
• Set up your cultures and start them growing for next week

Session 2: See & Create (Sat Jun 6th, 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM)

• Master micropipetting, the core skill every molecular biologist uses, now that you've seen where it fits
• Read and interpret the results from your transformation
• Make plate art with your engineered bacteria
• Play a synthetic-biology simulation game applying your new lab techniques to real-world scenarios

What you'll leave with
A certificate toward BOSLab's synthetic biology track, the first step in a series designed to get students to the level of leading their own experiments and competing in iGEM, the international synthetic biology competition for students. Plus photos of your work, hands-on experience with techniques used in actual research labs, and a real sense of what biotech looks like from the inside.

For parents
BOSLab is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community lab in Somerville dedicated to making science accessible to everyone. Classes are run in our BSL-1 certified space using E. coli DH5α, a standard non-pathogenic lab strain used worldwide for teaching molecular biology. All PPE is provided. Class is capped at 8 students for close instructor attention. Drop-off welcome.

Logistics

• Location: BOSLab, 561 Windsor St, Suite B405 (The Hive at Boynton Yards), Somerville, MA 02143, 4th floor. Accessible by elevator. Near Kendall/MIT Red Line with shuttle service.
• Dates and time: Saturdays, May 23 and May 30, 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM both days. One ticket covers both sessions.
• Ages: 13 to 15
• Price: $75 per student. Limited slots, first come first served.
• Provided: Lab coat, goggles, gloves, all materials, snacks
• Bring: Nothing required. Eat breakfast beforehand, class runs to 12:30.
• Registration: Rolling until we fill our 8 seats. Sign up through this Meetup.

No prior lab experience needed.

A micropipette is a precision tool for measuring tiny amounts of liquid, such as a very accurate eyedropper. It's one of the most common tools in any biology lab. This class kicks off our Introduction to Biohacking series, and what you learn here will carry into the rest of it and any lab work you take on afterward.

We'll cover the different types of micropipettes, how to use them, and the small habits that ensure you have clean accurate pipetting while avoiding common mistakes.
Then comes the fun part: a hands-on color-mixing challenge where you pipette to match target colors. If your green looks a little too yellow, you'll know where to tighten up.

By the end of the class, you'll be comfortable picking up a micropipette in any lab. Everyone who completes the session walks away with a certificate of completion.

Learn about the World of Community Science
Science isn’t just for private companies and universities—it’s for everyone! Whether you’re a beginner, a researcher, or an innovator, BOSLab is your space to explore, experiment, and create with biology.

Join our Virtual Open House to:
Discover how BOSLab empowers scientists, artists, and citizen scientists to tackle real-world challenges using biology.
Explore hands-on opportunities like genetic engineering, bio-fabrication, fermentation, and DIY biotech.
Learn about exciting projects—from painting with glowing bacteria to engineering microbes for the production of medicine.
Connect with a vibrant community that blends science, creativity, and entrepreneurship.
Join us as we build a more inclusive scientific community, where everyone has the opportunity to engage with and participate in science.

Want to tour the lab “in person” please email homosapiens@boslab.org to schedule a visit.