Sixteen schools. One statewide science adventure. Real DNA results.
From Esperance to Broome and Christmas Island — plus metro Perth and Geraldton — students became citizen scientists for Decoding the Universe, running authentic lab workflows (collection → extraction → PCR → gel → sequencing → BLAST) on plants and invertebrates.

How it went

• 50% strong sequences for plants + invertebrates (fungi excluded from this metric*) — an impressive lift on last year’s ~25%.
• Plants & invertebrates produced reliable reads across multiple schools.

Why we did it

• Give students a real end-to-end biotech experience.
• Build confidence with pipettes, PCR, gels, and BLAST.
• Contribute genuine species IDs to WA biodiversity knowledge.

What’s next

• Returning in 2026, scaling with Murdoch University & the Harry Butler Institute: teacher training, loanable kits, and expanded molecular biotech outreach.

Thank you

Australian Genome Research Facility (sequencing & bioinformatics — thanks, Jeremy), Promega Australia (reagents), Fisher Biotec (consumables), and our amazing teachers, lab technicians, and students.