About
BioGlo - The Bioluminescent Aquarium
$60,015
569
BioGlo is a truly unique aquarium that maximizes visibility and interaction with one of nature's most beautiful phenomena: bioluminescence.
Inside its sleek hourglass shape, Bioglo contains hundreds of tiny microbes called dinoflagellates (a.k.a. dinos). These dinos have the natural ability to absorb the sun's rays during the day and emit a mysterious blue glow when shaken at night.
By providing the right conditions for the dinos to thrive, BioGlo makes it easy to care for the microbes and observe their bioluminescent effect in the comfort of your home or classroom.
We've officially reached all of our stretch goals! Learn how to get them by reading the details below.
Stretch Goal #1: Sheath
Like a sleeping mask for your microbes, the BioGlo sheath can be coupled with the BaseLight to control lighting conditions or simply to carry your aquarium when you're showing it off on the go! The sheath will be included for free with every reward level.
Stretch Goal #2: BaseLight
BaseLight is now available by upgrading your reward selection. Alternatively, it will be available for purchase as an add-on after the campaign is over.
BaseLight is specially designed to help you care for your BioGlo aquarium by providing optimal environmental conditions.
Key features include:
- A High power LED light provides the frequency and intensity of light your dinos love, right out of the box;
- Timer control settings enable scheduling of 12-hr lighting cycles at any time of day so you can alter your dinos' circadian rhythm effortlessly;
- Ambient temperature sensing monitors your thermal conditions so you don't have to. If something doesn't seem right, BaseLight will subtly let you know.
Note: BaseLight color will match the color of your BioGlo, and the Science Explorer Edition will feature a variant of the BaseLight that enables additional experimentation.
Stretch Goal#3: Color Options
The BaseLight and BioGlo aquarium will be available with either black or white exterior coloring. You may choose between these options after the campaign is over via backer survey.
We designed BioGlo to maximize the visibility and duration of the bioluminescent effect while simultaneously emphasizing interaction with the microbes through 3 main modes of use:
- Bubble Mode: Letting the BioGlo bubble next to you as you go to bed will ease your mind and help you drift off to sleep
- Streak Mode: Like little bolts of lightning, watch the dinos dazzle as they travel down the side of the hourglass body
- Whirl Mode: Behold the power of hundreds of dinos lighting up together at once, forming a dazzling vortex display
With extensive ideation and iteration, we've created a product that strikes the right balance between reliability, aesthetics, and functionality.
Each BioGlo unit comes with the hourglass aquarium, a 50ml high-density culture of Pyrocystis fusiformis dinos in nutrient solution, and concentrated nutrient vials for creating your own nutrient refills.
For students, educators, and hobbyists who want to dive deep into the fascinating science of bioluminescence, we’ve put together the Science Explorer Edition to enable you to perform educational and fun experiments.
In addition to the BioGlo unit, the Science Explorer Edition comes with 6 test tubes, pipettes, a magnification lens, experiment plans, and extra materials to explore the fascinating science behind bioluminescence.
Note: For educators wanting to use BioGlo during daylight hours, the provided dino cultures can adapt to a reverse circadian rhythm.
We at Magical Microbes are well-versed in the design and production of hardware products involving microbial cultures, and the delivery of interactive educational experiences for people of all ages. Our products have garnered educational awards and attention from the likes of:
The Team
Timeline
Credits
We wish to extend a big thank you to everyone who helped us launch this campaign! Please check out other works from our very talented contributors:
- Frédérik Chevallier: http://www.fcmovie.fr/
- John Dolan (Galerie de l'Observatoire Océanologique de Villefranche-sur-Mer): http://gallery.obs-vlfr.fr/gallery2/v/Aquaparadox/
- Linden Gledhill: http://www.lindengledhill.com/
- Tania Ku: http://infinitypictures.co/
- Mike Corey (Kick the Grind): https://www.youtube.com/user/friskyb/featured
Risks and challenges
We've run two successful Kickstarter campaigns that have helped us launch two highly-rated products (search for "MudWatt" and "DoughLab" on Amazon to see our reviews). We are adept in mitigating risks of manufacturing and launching a physical product.
Learn about accountability on KickstarterQuestions about this project? Check out the FAQ
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Funding period
- (59 days)