2023 holiday gift guide
The holidays are just around the corner, so it's time for ASBMB Today's annual gift guide! We hope these suggestions will help you check some of your favorite scientists off this year’s gift list. And if you need even more ideas, see our guides from 2022 and 2021.
APPAREL
Methods Madness and Postdocs Rock shirts
Do you have anyone who works on mass spectrometry on your list, or a postdoc you’d like to thank? Check out ASBMB’s T-shirts. Our Methods Madness championship tee honors #TeamMassSpec, the three-time winner of the Journal of Biological Chemistry’s annual contest, and our Postdocs Rock shirt was designed to celebrate National Postdoc Appreciation Week. Not only will your purchase put a smile on someone’s face this holiday season, but proceeds from your order will support the ASBMB’s Marion B. Sewer Distinguished Scholarship for Undergraduates and our Discover BMB Graduate Student or Postdoctoral Researcher Travel Award, respectively.
iPhone case
OK, so we don’t technically wear our phones. But they certainly can make a fashion statement. PhD In The House is an Etsy shop dedicated to unique gifts for science enthusiasts. This iPhone case, featuring a variety of microorganisms, is just one of many great options for researchers. Check out the shop for T-shirts, stickers, mugs and more.
Enamel pipette pins
The description of this pin from Twisted Protein on Etsy brilliantly sums up this great gift idea: “The pipette: Arguably one of the most used tools in the lab, except this one won't need to be calibrated!” Love it!
Pocket protector
Some of us are OK embracing our inner nerd. Plus, a member of ASBMB’s staff suggested this would make a great gift card holder, and we couldn’t agree more!
TOYS AND ACTIVITIES (FOR KIDS AND ADULTS)
The “Barbie” movie was a blockbuster this year! This scientist-themed playset includes goggles, beakers, a microscope and more. It’s a great way to introduce the future scientist (and Barbie fan) on your list to the lab.
Stuffies
This gift box from Giant Microbes includes DNA, a nucleus, mitochondria, RNA and a chromosome. These are good for playing and displaying. And if you want one from the collection for yourself, we’ll have some at the ASBMB marketplace at Discover BMB in March in San Antonio.
Children’s coloring book
Neil Garg, a professor at UCLA, won the 2019 American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Award for Exemplary Contributions to Education. We’re thrilled to include this coloring book on this year’s gift guide, which Garg created with his daughters. Sucrose, aspirin, caffeine and cellulose are just a few of the book’s featured molecules.
Adult coloring book
This coloring book will take #sciart fans “on an artistic voyage into the microscopic world of cells” with illustrations of cells from the brain, intestine, eye, lung, and more.
Biosafety Lego set
These LEGO® lab sets from ScienceGrit are advertised as a way to “indulge your nerdy heart and let your inner child run wild.” They’re sure to bring joy to the scientists on your list! (We’ll be giving away some at Discover BMB in March in San Antonio, so be sure to throw your name in the hat for that contest.)
Periodic table Blocks
Literally the building blocks of, well, everything, these will make a great study guide accompaniment to “The Element Song” by Tom Lehrer for the student on your list.
DECOR
Coasters
The Calculated Chemist offers a variety of lovely gifts for scientists. This year, we’re highlighting their natural wood and resin chemistry coaster set. Be sure to shop their drinkware collection too, for a mug or tumbler to compliment the coasters!
Custom digital portrait
Give the biochemist or molecular biologist on your list a gift that’s as one-of-a-kind as they are! CartoonPortrait, a shop on Etsy, will create a custom portrait from the photo you provide of your colleague, friend or loved one.
DNA pencil holder
Sure, mugs make great pencil holders, but they can’t turn your pencils into symbols of base pairs the way this double helix design from 3D Print New York can!
A LAB MUST-HAVE
Rocket Notebooks are digital notebooks — simply write, scan your pages, erase and reuse! It’s a great item for students or anyone on your list who needs to jot down ideas and would be excited about the opportunity to reduce waste and save some space.
BOOKS
Can a Bee Sting a Bee?: And Other Big Questions from Little People
This collection of questions from grade schoolers, answered by experts, in Gemma Elwin Harris’ book promises to be endearing — and informative! (Seriously, can a bee sting a bee?)
Culinary Reactions: The Everyday Chemistry of Cooking
Shopping for a scientist who’s also a chef or for someone whose New Year’s resolution might be to learn more about cooking? We think Simon Quellen Field’s cookbook will be a great addition (or start) to their collection.
The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2023
Carl Zimmer and Jaime Green highlight 20 science and nature essays that “probe at the ordinary and urge us to think more deeply about our place in the world around us.” Striving to answer why and how is a passion of ASBMB members, and we thought this collection sounded like an interesting read for fellow curious scientists.
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