DNA Ahead Game & More Struts Its Stuff

I knew from my work as a psychologist/educator and my experience in the 1960s-70s women’s movement that the Game needed to occupy common ground on which to connect with its users. I took my cue from early childhood learning when play and pictures reveal the world, and chose a board game format featuring picture cards—the equivalent of a map and a picture book, but more flexible.

Fifteen years in the making, the Game blends the major chords of my life—projects, arts and crafts, science, mastery-by-teaching, underdog and creativity boosting; and, throughout, bridging.

The Game Art stars in the Hands-on Picture Science (HOPS) approach used to motivate users to explore the remarkable history and sweeping effects of the DNA revolution—AND communicate what they learn. Indeed, the Game’s effort to activate the inner teacher in all of us is its other key feature. HOPS bridges science to the arts (STEM —> STEAM), and its usability with any group anywhere makes it a worthy supplement to hands-on science lab and field activities for both non-scientists and scientists.

Here’s how it all works, starting with the Game Board. In a way that words alone cannot convey, the Board’s pictorial map depicts the relationships between the early history of genetics unfolding chronologically (in the RIM), the tools that launched and advance both DNA science and the biotech revolution (in the center HUB), and the biotech areas that have resulted (in the 8 HELIXES fanning out from the HUB). The last include Spaces for controversial issues—e.g., labeling of GMOs and stem cell research on human embryos. Quite apart from game play, pictures on Board Spaces invite users to think about their possible meanings, based only on the pictures and their titles.

The Game is fun to play and, for each round, you can choose targets that determine its approximate length and the content areas favored. You don’t need to know any science to play, and you don’t need to play to benefit from using the materials. They’re designed for use apart from play by both players and non-players.Let’s say you choose to play the game and have read the Rules in the All-U-Need Booklet and/or watched the How To Play & Navigate Content Video. You’ll roll Dice, move around the Board, land on and claim Spaces, and draw their Claim Cards, all like Monopoly—but with more Move options plus Consequences on frequently drawn  Whoops-Or-Whoopee (WOW) and issues-insights-innovations (iii) Cards, which introduce many more choices and strategic possibilities.

The WOW AND iii Cards also introduce small bites of content, so you can decide what interests you. WOW Cards cover the subculture of the scientist tribe, aka “the human side of science,” (career counselors, take note), while iii Cards focus on just what their name says, as applied to DNA science and biotechnology frontiers.

Some WOW and iii Cards in both Decks report on topics you’ll likely find personally relevant—e.g., “Exerciser or Couch Potato in Your Genes?” and “‘Fast Sleep Gene.” Many such Cards carry icons pointing to Claim Cards that flesh out their subjects. And Cards with content by, for, or about groups underrepresented in science carry identifying icons. 

Most important, Consequences lead to Show-&-Tell (S&T) Cards that guide you to apply relevant concepts to your own life and use your talents to create products or performances that express those concepts. The DNA Ahead exhortation is: “Teach—i.e., cogitate/create/circulate/celebrate—to master the science and inspire your audiences to do the same.”