SoundBio

Today is 2026. 🚀

Our nonprofit community lab runs largely on grants, donations, and volunteer power, and every contribution helps expand access to lab space, equipment, and hands-on science programming. 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐁𝐢𝐨 𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐁𝐈𝐆 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞: 𝐡𝐭𝐭𝐩𝐬://𝐰𝐰𝐰.𝐰𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬.𝐨𝐫𝐠/𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧/𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐛𝐢𝐨.
You can make an even bigger impact by spreading the word to friends or sharing on social media.

Thank you for your generosity and for being part of the SoundBio community! 💚

Have you been inspired by SoundBio's mission? Learned new lab skills through our hands-on programming? Gone on a cool lab tour, conducted your own research, or gotten involved in a community science project?

If SoundBio has been part of your journey, we’d love your support this GiveBIG: ╰┈➤ˎˊ˗ https://www.wagives.org/organization/soundbio

Your donations help fuel the programs and initiatives that make this community so special. 💚

Many employers will also match donations during GiveBig. Typically, companies only need a receipt as proof of contribution and a single form requesting that they match the donation. Some companies will even match 2:1 or 3:1! This means that your gift can be worth two to four times as much as you donate.

Thank you for your generosity and for believing in our mission! 🧬🧪🥼

🌸Spring is in full swing at SoundBio Lab. Check our our full April and May programming at https://www.sound.bio/workshops

🧬 5-Week CRISPR Course (starts April 23 | Thursdays):
Get hands-on with this powerful biotech tool. Transform bacteria, extract and purify DNA, visualize proteins, and explore real-world applications of gene editing.

🔬 April Hands-On Workshops:
Practice bacterial transformation in Genetic Engineering 101 and experiment with making your own biodegradable plastic materials in our brand new DIY Bio-Plastics Workshop.

🧪May: Learn to extract DNA from bacteria, get hands-on with our new Opentrons lab automation robot, create your own living masterpiece in Painting with Bacteria, and learn a new cutting-edge technology for tumor detection with Liquid Biopsy.

✨ Come learn, experiment, and be part of our community at SoundBio Lab!

Join SoundBio Lab in our Biosensors Community Project where we explore using bioluminescent organisms as biosensors to detect heavy metals and other contaminants in soil and water. Our ultimate goal will be creating easy-to-use testing kits for our communities to conduct their own experiments.

Our first workshop will be on Friday, April 10 from 4-6 pm! We’ll explore which organisms are best for detecting heavy metals.

🎟️This event is FREE and open to ages 12+. Sign up here! https://www.sound.bio/workshops-events/2026/4/10/biosensors-community-project-opening-workshop

🔗For more info: https://www.sound.bio/community-projects

Funded in part by a Public Participation Grant from the Washington State Department of Ecology

We are excited to share details about the upcoming National Youth Laboratory Summer Internship and invite you to join our next info session! This program, offered in partnership with Stemtac Foundation, offers high school and undergraduate students a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a lab setting.

Stemtac is hosting a virtual info session to answer questions and walk you through the application process:

👉 Virtual Session Details:
- When: Saturday, April 11th, 2026
- Time: 11:00 AM
- Where: Zoom (Link will be provided after registration)
- Register here: https://forms.gle/63ybpmF4J7sc8kbf9

👉 Internship Program Details:
- Application dates: April 1st – April 30th
- Internship dates: July 1st – August 19th; Mondays & Wednesdays 2:00- 4:00 PM
- Location: In person at SoundBio Lab: 1100 NE 47th St UNIT 103, Seattle, WA 98105
- Stipend: Students will receive a $500 stipend upon successful completion of the internship.

We hope to see you at the info session and look forward to your application!

SoundBio Lab and the Stemtac Foundation Team

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Join us at the lab on Friday, March 20th from 6-7:30 pm for our Open House! 🏠
1100 Northeast 47th Street #103, right across from the Audi dealership.

Learn about what we do, hear about current classes and projects, explore the lab and its equipment, share ideas with the SoundBio team, and connect with others interested in hands-on science. We’ll also have a raffle for SoundBio swag.

This event is free and open to the public. Friends, family, and first-time visitors welcome.

Come see what community biology looks like in action, and how you can get involved!

The key to hacking biology in the palm of your hand! 🧬

We’re excited to launch Introduction to Synthetic Biology, a new six-week hands-on course starting Thursday, March 12.

🗓 Thursdays, March 12 - April 16, 5:00 to 7:30 pm.
🔗 https://www.sound.bio/workshops-events/2026/2/6/lab-skills-course-introduction-to-synthetic-biology

This dynamic, hands-on course introduces synthetic biology through a real-world molecular biology workflow. By assembling a plasmid encoding a fluorescent protein, students will learn to manipulate, transform, and express recombinant DNA in living cells.

Gain practical experience with core molecular biology techniques, and finish the course ready to kickstart your own synthetic biology experiments and projects!

You will learn:
● Micropipetting & general lab practices
● PCR & gel electrophoresis
● DNA extraction & preparation
● Molecular cloning (Golden Gate assembly)
● Bacterial transformation & culturing
● DNA sequence analysis with Benchling

🧫🧪🧬 Join us in the lab!

Members get 50% off all courses and workshops: https://soundbio-lab.squarespace.com/membership-details

To reduce barriers to STEM education, we provide fee waivers to those for whom the cost would otherwise be prohibitive. Apply for a fee waiver: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScNVaMCDn8vmnU5sdNB-Sfp_9eXNqshCKH2J044g6DvYFQ14w/viewform?usp=header

🧬 SoundBio Lab’s 2026 programming is now open for registration! 🧬

Upcoming events include:
• Minipreps: Extract DNA from Bacteria
• Genetic Engineering 101: Transforming Cells
• Fred Hutchinson Campus and Lab Tour
• Painting with Bacteria
• Liquid Biopsy: Detect Cancer Genes in Liquid Samples
• Strawberry DNA Extraction
• Make Your Own Microscope
• One to a Billion: Intro to PCR
• DIY-Bio: Is It Really Antibacterial?
• Molecular Scissors: Restriction Enzymes

🔬 Now enrolling: Metabarcoding for Microbial Ecology (5-week course, Feb 11- March 11). Learn a powerful technique for using genetic information to explore the complexity of the microbial world. Identify major groups of microbes, extract DNA from environmental samples, amplify and purify target DNA using PCR and gel electrophoresis, and use cutting-edge software to analyze sequence data.

🏠 Lab Open House — March 20, 2026
Join us at the lab to learn about what we do, and how we do it! This is an opportunity to hear about members' projects and the lab’s equipment, share ideas or feedback with the SoundBio team, and enter a raffle for some swag. Friends and first-time visitors welcome!

👉 Register at https://www.sound.bio/workshops and subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.sound.bio/newsletter to stay in the loop. We’re adding new programming regularly and hope to see you in the lab this quarter!

2025 has been a defining year for SoundBio Lab. 🧪✨ As we look toward 2026, we’re reflecting on the organic growth that has strengthened our mission to provide space, tools, and community for hands-on science education in the greater Seattle area.

From securing major funding to expanding our leadership, we’re building a powerful foundation for the future of community science.

Our 2025 Highlights:

Grant Funding: We were honored to be recipients of the 4Culture Science and Technology Sustained Support grant, totaling $55k over 3 years. This support from King County is vital to our continued social and economic impact.

Expert Leadership: Following our fall recruitment, the SBL Board of Directors now hosts the highest concentration of domain experts in our 9-year history.

Community Impact: Your participation is what drives us! This year, you joined us for:

🗓️ 30+ in-person workshops and courses
🏫 10+ outreach events at local schools
🔬 Countless hours of independent research in our lab

We are currently heads-down on our 2026 strategy -- collaborating as a team of professionals passionate about protecting the value of science in our culture and society.

How you can help: Your active participation and financial contributions are what electrify this organization. Follow us to see what we have in store for the new year! 🚀

---- Quick links:

2025 SoundBio Member Feedback Survey: https://forms.gle/6SpjXSVyDCQJEHJF9

Donation page: https://www.sound.bio/donate

In 2025, SoundBio hosted 30+ workshops, taught core lab skills, brought science to classrooms across WA, and gave community scientists a place to explore and collaborate. This work is only possible because of you!

As we grow our programs in 2026, please consider a year-end donation to keep community science thriving.

👉 Donate here: https://www.sound.bio/donate
Thank you for being part of this community! 💚🔬

🔬 Exciting Summer Opportunity! 🌟

High school & college students—want to build your own plate reader and dive into bioengineering? Join the National Youth Laboratory Summer Internship with SoundBio Lab & Stemtac Foundation! 🧪✨

Learn more at our virtual info sessions:
📅 March 22, 2025 | 11 AM PT
📅 April 12, 2025 | 11 AM PT

🔗 Register now:
👉 March 22: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1256783757049?aff=oddtdtcreator
👉 April 12: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1259732256089?aff=oddtdtcreator

Don’t miss this hands-on biotech experience! 🚀