The GeniConnect project was one of many projects to use the various genetics engines I built (ask me anything you like about dragon breeding…), but this one was special because it also included an out-of-school component where we worked with the East End House to explore genetics, not just with the computer game but through physical games, paper puzzles, and a final event at the New York Hall of Science.
At the event above, we brought the kids to Concord to take part in a human-chain version of a cellular process — the development of melanin in response to signals carried in the blood. These biological processes can resemble complex Rube Golberg contraptions, and it was fun to see if each kid could work out how to play a role in the chain.
I ended up volunteering at East End House for a few months after this for their after-school homework program, which I enjoyed.