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We present BacPack, a tangible museum exhibit for exploring bio-design. BacPack utilizes tangible tokens on a large multitouch table display to allow visitors the opportunity to participate in a playful bio-design activityengineering bacteria for sustaining life on Mars. To understand the role of tangible tokens in facilitating engagement and learning with the exhibit, we developed and evaluated two versions of BacPack: one with tangible tokens and one that consists of only multitouch interaction. Results from an evaluation in the Tech Museum of Innovation indicate that tangible tokens provide additional opportunities for collaborative problem solving and impact learning through support for tinkering and experimentation. We discuss design considerations for exhibits that facilitate creative engagement and exploration with biology.

We present BacToMars, an educational video game that engages elementary school children in a bio-design activity. We describe its design and implementation, and discuss design considerations for developing playful and developmentally-appropriate interactive activities, which enable children to grasp complex scientific concepts and apply bio-design to solve problems. We share results from preliminary evaluation, and describe next steps in our investigation.

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