OpenBio has a devoted nook within the Science and Engineering Advanced, in partnership with the Energetic Studying Labs of SEAS, which offer area, mentoring, coaching, instrumentation, and security oversight. The group has additionally obtained help by means of scholar membership funding, non-public donations, and business sponsors.

However like several scholar endeavor, there’s by no means sufficient to cowl the whole lot, and a biology moist laboratory is pricey to run — from tools like pipettes and reagents to bills related to occasions and workshops.

Enter the pumpkin. At all times looking out for additional sources, Chang determined to fold fundraising into what he described as a “lifelong dream” to remodel a large pumpkin into a ship and row it throughout the Charles. The occasion concerned borrowing a forklift to maneuver the 1,500-pound gourd and scooping out lots of of kilos of innards. Earlier than the Oct. 14 crossing, OpenBio supplied rides within the empty vessel in change for money. The day raised greater than $500.