This month, we’re gathering at Gas Works Park for a summer picnic and community listening session, exploring the hidden world of soil microbiology, touring Shoreline Community College’s biomanufacturing facilities, and continuing our biosensor community project sessions.

We’ve also got a full lineup of hands-on classes, including our upcoming Biomanufacturing course, plus a volunteer day on July 3 to make some physical improvements to the physical lab space together.

Whether you want to learn new lab skills, contribute to community science projects, or just spend time around others excited about biology and environmental health, we’d love to see you this summer!

​Join us for a free summer evening picnic and outdoor community listening session at Gas Works Park this Tuesday, June 16, from 6 to 8 PM. Food and refreshments provided!

​Hang out with the SoundBio Lab crew, build community, and share your thoughts about contamination, pollution, hazardous substances, and what resources would make community participation more accessible.

​If you took one of our recent workshops on phytoremediation or soil contamination (or are interested in future ones), this is an excellent opportunity to follow up on those discussions!

👉 Register here

This event is free and open to all ages. Please note that this session is at Gas Works Park, and not at our lab space. Shelter 1 is behind the play barn.

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

These workshops are funded in part by a Public Participation Grant from the Washington State Department of Ecology

Ever wondered what a cutting-edge biomanufacturing lab looks like? Join us for a FREE guided tour of Shoreline Community College’s state-of-the-art biomanufacturing facilities on Tues. June 30th, 2026 from 5 - 7 pm.

👉 Register here

This tour doubles as a hands-on preview of our upcoming SoundBio Lab x SCC Biomanufacturing Course. Whether you’re already enrolled in the course or just curious about how we can grow the sustainable materials of tomorrow, come get a taste of the skills you’ll build this summer.

From insulin and other biomedicines to new sources of fibers and dyes, biomanufacturing will play an integral role in a sustainable future. Join us in a 5-week Introduction to Biomanufacturing course, created as a partnership between SoundBio Lab and Shoreline Community College, and focused on essential knowledge and skills to help compete in this emerging job market.

Learn how to culture genetically-modified bacterial factories, verify DNA constructs using PCR and gel electrophoresis, and purify protein using both lab-scale and industry-scale techniques.

Sessions are on Tuesday evenings from July 7 to August 4, from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m., with an additional career panel on Thurs August 6, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. featuring biomanufacturing professionals and Shoreline Community College alumni.

Fee waivers are available to reduce barriers to participation.

Our busy June wraps up with Intro to PCR on Sun, June 21, 2-4 pm. Learn how to set up and run a PCR reaction, visualize the results with gel electrophoresis, and discuss how PCR is used in the research and medical fields.

Our July hands-on workshops include:

Molecular Scissors: Sun, July 5, 2-4 pm. There are over 3,000 varieties of restriction enzymes, or “DNA scissors”, all isolated from bacteria to cleave DNA at specific sites. The use of restriction enzymes is critical to many lab techniques, including genetic engineering.

Painting with Bacteria: Sat, July 18, 4-6 pm. In this workshop, we will create glowing bacteria-based paints and use them to make living microbial masterpieces within a petri dish. Don’t worry—all our bacteria are human-safe/non-pathogenic.

Genetic Engineering 101: Transforming Cells: Sun, July 26, 6-8 pm: Transformation is the process by which foreign DNA is taken into a cell. Bacterial transformation is an essential protocol for genetic engineering and molecular biology more broadly.

SoundBio never wants financial constraints to keep people out of the lab. If cost is ever a barrier for your participation, please request a fee waiver. Thanks to generous support from 4Culture and Society for Science!

Want to join a group project or start your own? Visit our Membership page to learn about becoming a Tinkerer, Researcher, or Lead. All members receive a 50% discount on all courses and workshops.

Email us at info@sound.bio to schedule an on-site visit or to join our Slack group.

SoundBio Lab is a registered 501c3 non-profit. We believe that science should be for everyone. Read more on our website. Questions? Contact us at info@sound.bio.

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