At Liberty Science Center’s 13th annual Genius Gala, brilliant minds responsible for life-saving gene manipulation, community-rescuing meteorology, and more came together to celebrate the impact of science and the individuals who work every day to make the world a better place. To celebrate these great thinkers in science, Liberty Science Center transformed from a place where thousands of families spend their days exploring exhibits into a brilliant venue to host the guests being honored with the esteemed Genius Awards. Part of this transformation included some creativity from our very own STEM innovation team, who, in only 3 weeks, crafted over 60 DNA lamps to serve as show-stopping centerpieces across the venue.

Honoree Jennifer Doudna was in attendance, and to highlight her Nobel-Prize-winning development of CRISPR gene editing, the STEM innovation team used the iconic DNA double helix as the main structure of the centerpiece. Inspired by honoree Leo Villareal’s art installations, lights were integrated into the design in four alternating colors, representing the four nucleotide bases found in DNA– adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine.

Creating these bespoke works of art was the result of hard work and dedication utilizing tools found right here at Liberty Science Center. The STEM innovation team, consisting of Rosa Catala-Steidle, Alejandro Melendez, and Brandon Daniels, utilized the LSC MakerLab to 3D print the frames in-house. This was no simple task, as each individual centerpiece required multiple prints, totaling in about 6 hours of print time per product. Post print, the additional work required to physically assemble the pieces upped the total time to about 2 days per DNA strip!

Channeling “Courage in STEM” award recipient Roya Mahboob, the team soldered the circuitry together for each individual piece– melting metal filament to connect LED light strips to the battery packs located under the base. These LED strips were individually colorized using alcohol markers and ran up the frames of the centerpieces, which was the backbone of the DNA. The final piece to tie it all together was hundreds of acrylic rods– which the team spent 2-3 days hand cutting– fastened together to create the center ladder of the DNA strand. These translucent rods transmitted the light from the LED strips and illuminated the centerpieces in vibrant color.

“The most rewarding thing about this project was finally seeing the pieces out on the tables during our Gala. The combination of the environment and the pieces themselves lighting up blended better than we could have imagined,” said Alejandro, Senior Manager of STEM Innovation.

These centerpieces not only provided a spectacle for guests attending Liberty Science Center’s biggest night of the year, but also served as a beautiful homage to the incredible honorees being celebrated at the Genius Gala.

“In the end, the centerpieces send a message, not unlike honoree Edgar McGregor, that life is precious. And in dark times, hope shines ever brighter,” said Brandon Daniels on the final product.

To learn more about the honorees and the rest of the night’s activities, be sure to read through our blog post recapping the events of the night.