The microscope was salvaged from a rubbish bin. The centrifuge was made from 3D-printed parts and cheap electronics purchased from Hong Kong.

Most of the other equipment at the BioFoundry, Australia's first community lab for citizen scientists, are cast-offs from university and industry.

Counter-culture: Biofoundry organiser Meow-Ludo Meow Meow (formerly known as Stuart McKellar) in his lab in Stanmore in Sydney. Credit:Dallas Kilponen

Located in Stanmore, BioFoundry has the attributes of a fully fledged science lab even if its walls are black.

"We wanted the lab to feel as counter-culture as possible," says Meow-Ludo Meow-Meow (the University of NSW science student formerly known as Stuart McKellar). "Where if you have a crazy idea you can run with it and make it happen rather than writing it up and getting funding."