Give heart cells a beat: An interactive museum exhibit that synchronizes stem cell–derived cardiomyocytes to visitors’ heartbeat

Science museums play an important role in science education, engaging the public with science concepts and building support for scientific research. Here, we describe Give Heart Cells a Beat, an interactive exhibit that lets museum visitors synchronize the beating of live stem cell–derived cardiomyocytes to their own heart rate in real time. The beat rate of cells accurately matched the beat rate of visitors and responded dynamically to changes such as exercise. Visitor evaluation revealed that engagement with the specimen prompted curiosity in heart biology and stem cells. Give Heart Cells a Beat is the product of a close collaboration between a museum and an academic research laboratory, and to our knowledge, it is the first interactive exhibit to use live human heart cells. We hope this exhibit serves as an example for the implementation of stem cell technology in informal science education and inspires future relationships between academia and public science venues. •Interactive museum exhibit using live stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes•Visitors can synchronize the cells’ beat rate to their own heartbeat in real time•Exhibit prompted visitor curiosity for stem cells and heart biology•Product of a close collaboration between an academic lab and a science museum Perez-Bermejo et al. report on an immersive museum exhibit that allows visitors to dynamically synchronize the beating of stem cell–derived cardiomyocytes to their own heartbeat. This is a prime example of how collaboration between an academic lab and a science education center can produce novel ways to communicate current scientific advances to the public.