Outliers: Science, the DIY way

Remember how cool science was when you were a kid?

Katriona Guthrie-Honea is hoping to rekindle that thrill for people of all ages with Seattle's first do-it-yourself biotech lab.

HiveBio Community Lab, which opened in mid-October, is a place where anyone can slip on a lab coat and brew up a batch of nontoxic bacteria, tinker with DNA or simply explore the microscopic world in a drop of pond scum.

“I get excited every time I come here,” said Guthrie-Honea, the lab's 17-year-old co-founder. “DIY science is like having an adventure.”

With a volunteer staff and board that includes several Ph.D. scientists and biotech leaders, HiveBio is the latest in a growing list of community labs across the country.

Propelled by the creativity of hacker culture and energized by a surge in citizen science projects, the DIY bio movement gives amateurs the chance to explore, experiment and learn outside the traditional bounds of academia.

Though HiveBio is just getting off the ground, the lab has already attracted a lineup of local experts to present classes and workshops on everything from basic laboratory techniques to intellectual-property law.

To use the facilities, members pay monthly fees that start at $54, or a drop-in fee of $15 a visit.

It's kind of like joining a gym, Guthrie-Honea said. But instead of sweating through a spin class, you can learn how to dissect a sheep's brain or probe your own genes.

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