During the development of our project, ReGenStitch, we were amazed by the creativity and potential of synthetic biology — how living systems can be designed and engineered to solve real-world problems. This experience inspired us to share this excitement with our peers. As a team of high school students, we realized that synthetic biology is still unfamiliar to many students around us, and that our role could be to make this field more approachable and inspiring for beginners.

To achieve this, we decided to design a simple yet effective outreach activity that could introduce synthetic biology clearly and quickly, especially for those who have never encountered it before.

Our first step was to seek guidance from an international teacher at our school who had extensive experience in science education. After several discussions, he suggested that instead of giving a long and complicated presentation, we should focus on clarity and accessibility — creating a one-page material that could explain what synthetic biology is, and how our project applies it, in the simplest possible way.

Taking his advice, we designed a concise visual handout that combined both text and images. We discussed the layout and content with him, and he provided valuable feedback on how to make the material more suitable for high school students.

The photo below shows our team sharing and refining this “One-Page Synthetic Biology” concept with our teacher.

Figure 1. We are discussing the “One-Page Synthetic Biology” material with our international teacher.

Following our teacher’s advice to reach a wider audience, we tested the material with students from different cultural backgrounds, including China, Korea, and the United States.

Each student was invited to read the one-page handout and share their understanding of what synthetic biology means. Their positive reactions encouraged us to believe that synthetic biology can be communicated effectively across language and cultural barriers when presented in a simple and engaging way.

Figure 2. The picture shows our Chinese teammate at the top, an American student at the lower left, a Korean student at the lower right, and our team member in a suit on the right, as we share the “One-Page Synthetic Biology” concept across cultures.

To further extend this idea, we organized a short interactive campaign within our school titled “Explain Synthetic Biology in One Sentence.”

Students were invited to summarize what they thought synthetic biology was, using only one sentence. We collected nearly 50 responses and selected several insightful examples for display.

These reflections showed that many students had formed their own understanding of the field — from describing synthetic biology as “programming life” to “engineering cells to solve real problems.”

Our teachers later provided short written comments on these responses, helping participants refine their ideas and gain deeper insight into the discipline.

Selected One-Sentence Definitions and Teacher Comments

Student’s One-Sentence Definition	Teacher’s Comment
1. “Synthetic biology means programming living cells like computers to do useful things.”	Excellent analogy — it captures the engineering spirit. Remember that cells are not machines, so testing and iteration are key.
2. “It’s about redesigning nature to solve human problems safely.”	Great emphasis on safety — a very responsible perspective for young scientists.
3. “Using biology as a toolkit to build new materials, medicines, or ideas.”	Creative and broad — nicely links biology with innovation.
4. “Like Lego blocks for genes — we connect parts and see what new functions they make.”	Fun and visual. Add that scientists must also predict how blocks interact.
5. “Turning living cells into green factories for sustainable production.”	Strong environmental awareness — excellent connection to real-world goals.
6. “Engineering life, but with ethics and purpose.”	Concise and powerful. Highlighting ethics makes this statement stand out.
7. “Designing biological systems step by step, just like an engineer builds machines.”	Good focus on the ‘design’ idea. Consider mentioning testing and learning too.
8. “It’s the science that lets bacteria make something they’ve never made before.”	Simple and specific — perfect for beginners to grasp quickly.
9. “Combining biology and engineering to make life smarter.”	Catchy phrasing. Try to specify what ‘smarter’ means — more efficient, controlled, or useful.
10. “Using DNA as a language to tell cells what to do.”	Beautiful metaphor. This is a sentence that inspires curiosity — well done!

Figure 3. Poster display of selected one-sentence definitions from students.

Through these activities — from collaborating with our international teacher to engaging peers across cultures and organizing a campus-wide challenge — we not only introduced synthetic biology to a wider audience but also inspired real participation beyond our team.

Following our outreach, several students who learned about synthetic biology through our campaign took the initiative to create their own educational posters and one-page leaflets, further interpreting the concepts in their own way. Their enthusiasm and creativity became the best reflection of our goal: to spark curiosity and empower others to continue spreading synthetic biology education.

We believe this “One-Page SynBio” approach can be continuously passed on — allowing each new generation of students to both learn and teach, keeping the spirit of accessible science communication alive within our school community and beyond.

Figure 4. Posters and one-page leaflets created by students who joined our educational activities. We hope this “One-Page SynBio” model can continue to spread, helping more high schoolers learn about synthetic biology through simple, engaging materials rather than lengthy presentations.