When one thinks of science, an image of artists creating striking work might not immediately spring to mind. But that is exactly what took place in Science teacher Jill Hirsch's Molecular Genetics class one recent morning.
In an unusual interdisciplinary unit, Class 11 and Class 12 students participated in a hands-on lab activity in which science and the visual arts intersected through an innovative medium called biological art or bio art. Like traditional art, bio art may involve painting on canvas, but the paints aren't traditional and the canvas isn't stretched linen. Instead, individuals practicing bio art "paint" with colorful (and completely harmless) living microbes such as bacteria or fungi and use fortified petri dishes – known as agar plates – for their backgrounds. (Derived from seaweed, agar is a gelatinous substance that helps to grow cultures.)
Working with visiting scientist Dr. Christine Marizzi from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, with whom Ms. Hirsch has a longstanding professional relationship, the students pulled on blue medical gloves and quickly became engaged in making their living masterpieces. First, they dipped cotton swabs in narrow vials of E. coli microbes, a harmless teaching strain that had been transformed with DNA to produce fluorescent proteins. They then began beautifying their circular dishes with the bacteria, taking care to create visually interesting pieces. Stencils of letters, numbers and symbols were available to further accentuate their art.
But there was a catch: At this stage, the bacteria were not visible to the naked eye. Dr. Marizzi marked each vial with the microbe's name and color (green, red, yellow and orange), and a UV-light box helped the class observe the bacteria, which had been genetically engineered to glow under ultraviolet light. Still, the students were, in essence, creating art in the dark. It would take approximately 48 hours before the microbes grew abundant enough to be seen – and for the art to be fully realized. Thus, precision and patience were in order (and a refrigerator to keep the living organisms fresh).
As an exciting capstone to this project, the students were invited to submit their bio art to a national contest sponsored every year by the American Academy for Microbiology, part of the American Society of Microbiology, the world's oldest and largest life science organization. With Dr. Marizzi and Ms. Hirsch's encouragement, several students chose to enter their imaginative creations (which were photographed after two days of growth) into the contest. The winners will be announced in June.
By the end of this captivating class, 16 agar plates were stacked on the lab table, each containing hidden artwork. "It is interesting to use bacteria that normally has a negative connotation for a creative purpose," one student commented as she wrote her initials on her second plate and added it to the others. She and her classmates eagerly awaited their next class when the results of this fascinating bio art experiment would be revealed.
Click HERE for photos.