Are you planning on teaching a PCR lab practical to undergraduate or high school students, and wondering what equipment will give your students the best hands-on learning experience?
Here are five reasons why Bento Lab, the portable PCR workstation, can help you give your students the best experience of PCR in the classroom!
1. Give each of your students hands-on experience with PCR!
Instead of your students watching a video simulating PCR, or your class watching a technician load a gel, give your students the chance to do the lab work and experience research for themselves.
Bento Lab is a portable PCR workstation that combines all the equipment you need for PCR and gel electrophoresis in one device. With a small bench footprint, and requiring only a single plug socket, Bento Lab is ideal for use by individuals, pairs, or small groups in a classroom environment.
With Bento Lab, each student or group of students can take ownership of the whole PCR workflow at their own bench: extracting DNA samples, setting up PCRs, programming the thermocycler (or using stored presets), and running and visualising their PCR products on agarose gels.
There’s no substitute for hands-on experience, and with Bento Lab every student can engage with every step of the workflow!
2. Get more value for money compared to conventional PCR equipment
We believe that Bento Lab gives you much better value for money for PCR equipment for teaching compared to conventional laboratory equipment.
Bento Lab contains a thermocycler, bench centrifuge, gel electrophoresis tank, electrophoresis power supply, and blue light transilluminator, all for $1999 for our Bento Lab Pro model (excluding taxes and shipping).
In comparison, a conventional (and bulky) thermocycler, centrifuge, electrophoresis tank, blue light transilluminator, and electrophoresis power supply can easily cost 2x-3x this price or more, even with educational discounts.
Comparing costs depends on your set-up, the suppliers compared, and whether you get special institutional discounts, so it’s difficult to compare like for like exactly, but we did a quick comparison with equipment from the well-known equipment supplier Bio-Rad, based on their online educational discount price.
| Bento Lab (Pro) | Cost | Conventional laboratory PCR equipment | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
|
$1999 | BioRad T100 thermocycler | $3195.98 |
| Model 16K Microcentrifuge | $2358.80 | ||
| Mini-Sub® Cell GT Cell Tank and Lid | $230.34 | ||
| UView Mini Transilluminator | $996.67 | ||
| PowerPac Basic Power Supply | $378.42 | ||
| Total | $1999 | Total *prices from December 2024 and based on Bio-Rad’s educational discount prices. |
$7160.21 |
If you have a budget to equip the whole classroom, the affordable pricing of Bento Lab can make it possible to put a PCR area on every bench.
And if you only have a small budget, Bento Lab can allow you to set up your classroom for as little as $2000, while having enough capacity for 30 students to run their own PCR sample.
3. Easy set-up and pack away with the all-in-one format
Bento Lab’s portable design makes the lab very easy to set up and pack away, saving time and effort in busy teaching environments.
- 1 Bento Lab = 1 power socket! Bento Lab only requires a single power adapter per unit, which is much more convenient to pack, plug in, and set up, compared to 3 or 4 individual pieces of equipment.
- Small bench footprint. With a footprint similar to a laptop, Bento Lab fits neatly into limited space, making it easy to organize your classroom layout.
- Easy storage. The compact size means Bento Lab can be easily packed away. You can store the units in stackable cases, boxes, or even in drawers, making them easy to keep safe and organised until they are needed.
Bento Lab makes logistics that little bit easier, winning you back time to focus on teaching instead of managing equipment.
4. Control classroom chaos by creating multiple personal PCR work areas
Lab practicals can be chaotic with students all running their samples on a single shared thermocycler, or queuing to load a single PCR product into a shared agarose electrophoresis gel.
Say goodbye to wandering students in the classroom by setting up one or many Bento Lab workstations wherever it makes the most sense for you.
Bento Lab’s compact footprint and single plug allow you to set up Bento Labs anywhere in the classroom, whether they are on a student’s bench; at the end of a lab bench; or on instructors’ tables. This can keep students focused on their activities and learning, rather than allowing opportunities for them to wander.
5. Suitable for classes, fieldwork teaching, individual projects, or outreach
Bento Lab’s portability makes it equally suited for use in teaching laboratories or improvised workrooms, making it ideal for regular classes or use during fieldwork teaching. Compact enough to fit into a backpack and take as hand luggage on an airplane, Bento Lab is also ideal for use during fieldwork, individual student research projects, or outreach events.
Bento Lab’s versatility allows you to get much more value out of your equipment throughout the year than you would from conventional PCR equipment.
If you’re looking for equipment for classroom PCR practicals, the compact and affordable design of Bento Lab can help give your students the best hands-on experience with PCR workflows!
With Bento Lab, you can:
- Give every student a hands-on PCR learning experience for all workflow steps
- Develop a teaching PCR lab to fit all budgets
- Streamline lab set up, tidy up, and storage
- Minimise class queuing, waiting between steps, and classroom chaos
- Teach PCR inside and outside the classroom
If these reasons resonate with you, then Bento Lab could be a great choice of PCR equipment for your students and classroom.
