Teaching biology with the BioBits™ kit

Implementing practical biology activities in biology and science classrooms is very challenging due to the need for specialized equipment and expertise in growing living cells. Synthetic biology kits, drawing on biological sciences, engineering, and design, provide opportunities for experiential biology education. BioBits™ is a type of artificial biology education kit, free of cells, stable on shelves, and freeze-dried, which, when water is added, provides desirable visual outputs to users. BioBits™ reactions engage visual, olfactory, and tactile senses, producing fluorescence, fragrance, and hydrogel. This review article extracted relevant research articles from Science Direct, Google Scholar, and PubMed websites. We aim to report supporting activities and curriculum plans in biology education that can utilize the BioBits™ kit to teach enzymatic reactions, biological material formation, and biological sensors. The BioBits™ kit enables a practical representation of advanced sciences that is affordable, easy, and almost accessible; and eliminates many current obstacles to conducting exploratory biology experiments in classroom settings.