This session explores the design and implementation of affordable, custom lab kits for online science courses. We will share practical strategies, safety considerations, and institutional challenges that will help attendees design kits that support learning goals, overcome common barriers, and promote engaging, hands-on experiences in remote settings.

Creating meaningful hands-on experiences in online science courses presents both exciting opportunities and real challenges. In this session, we will share our experience designing and implementing in-house created laboratory kits for a variety of science courses including anatomy and physiology, cellular and molecular biology, and environmental biology.
Unlike pre-packaged kits, which are often more expensive and may only loosely align with learning goals, in-house lab kits are more affordable, more flexible, and allow instructors to design activities that directly support specific course objectives, student needs, and budget constraints. Custom kits also give instructors greater creative freedom to develop labs that are engaging, practical, and pedagogically sound.
Using examples from our own courses, we will highlight the key steps of creating a custom kit — from identifying core learning objectives, designing lab activities that support those objectives, sourcing materials affordably, and managing costs effectively. We will also describe how we collaborate with our lab coordinators through this entire process.
We will share specific examples such as environmental testing experiments adapted for home use, basic molecular biology labs using affordable supplies, traditional A&P physiology experiments and anatomy dissections, and muscle modeling activities designed to engage the at home learner. 
Maintaining safety standards in remote environments can be a challenge. We will cover/describe how we addressed these issues by creating an online lab safety module that outlines essential safety procedures, proper handling of materials, and compliance expectations for at-home experimentation
In addition to the logistics of kit design, we will discuss strategies for institutional buy-in especially about whether labs can be taught effectively online. We will share common roadblocks we have encountered - including resources limitations, institutional resistance, and safety concerns, and how we have addressed them. 
Participants will learn:

• How to source affordable materials for home-based kits
• Strategies for designing lab activities that are realistic, safe, and feasible in an online environment
• Tips for aligning kit components directly with course objectives to maximize educational value
• Common challenges when building and distributing kits including maintaining material quality and handling packaging and shipping logistics
• Approaches for overcoming resistance and advocating for the implementation of the use custom lab kits

To promote engagement, participants will be asked to reflect on one course they currently teach or support and brainstorm a potential activity that could be adapted into a kit-based experience. We will facilitate a brief share-out of selected examples to spark discussion about creativity, feasibility, and potential obstacles. 
Attendees will leave with a practical framework for evaluating whether in-house lab kits could work in their own courses, along with strategies for building support to pilot the use of custom kits on their own campuses.

Jeremiah Wagner

Professor at Mid Michigan College

Trish Finerty

biology faculty at Mid Michigan College