Team:Calgary/Engagement
Engagement
Giving back to the scientific community
Our team had decided to give back to the community by developing genetic engineering and synthetic biology educational material for future scientists and the general public to use. We developed workshops for different age groups (ages 11-13, 13-16, and 17-18) and made them relevant to their school science curriculum.
For each age group, we created a teacher guide, worksheets & lab instructions deliverables. These materials are now available for free use to the public to educate the community on the matters of genetics, synthetic biology and genetic engineering.
We have tested our developed workshops this summer at the Sir Winston Churchill High School and in the Minds in Motion University of Calgary summer camps.
We also developed an iGEM-specific curriculum, which can be found on our education page.
Minds in Motion Workshops
Minds in Motion is an established University of Calgary science and engineering summer camp. It welcomes kids from diverse backgrounds and from various age groups with a single goal in mind: satisfy kids’ endless curiosity. This year we organized one 1.5 hour long workshop for campers aged 11-13 and one 1.25 hour long workshop for campers aged 13-16.
The workshops developed for the 11-13 age group included:
- an introduction to genes and DNA
- an explanation of DNA’s role in the body
- an interactive activity where campers were presented with a gene-making "kit" which included twizzler candy and gummies
In the interactive “gene-building” activity, campers had a chance to create their own gene, while keeping in mind the nucleotides’ compatibility and trying to come up with the trait that their gene is coding for. Afterwards kids were organized in pairs and had a chance to create a longer genetic sequence out of their individual genes and name the traits that their organism would posses.
The workshop was concluded with a discussion and Q&A session on myths and facts about GMO products. We also discussed why and how genetic engineering is used in various industries.
The workshop for the 13-16 age group started with an apple as Earth metaphor, which allowed the campers a chance to envision how little is the percentage of Earth available for the crop production. The metaphor was followed by a discussion of the role of genetic engineering in improving agricultural yields and feeding the planet. Then. we discussed the main steps of the genetic engineering process. The final part of the workshop was a strawberry DNA extraction experiment.
Our team was impressed with the kids’ interest in genetics and synthetic biology. It was encouraging to hear that the campers we met throughout the summer are aware of GMO products and entertained the idea that GMOs can be used to benefit humankind.
Beakerhead - Petri Dish Picasso
In collaboration with the University of Calgary Biological Sciences Graduate Student Association (BGSA) we volunteered at the Calgary Beakerhead Petri Dish Picasso event. Beakerhead is an annual festival in Calgary that combines arts, science, and engineering to present interactive installations around the city, which are meant to educate and engage Calgarians in those fields. At Petri Dish Picasso people are given the opportunity to create artworks by "painting" on agar with E.coli strains that have been genetically engineered to produce different colors of fluorescent proteins. Besides having fun and being creative, these people also learn about the principles of genetic engineering, the safety aspects of genetic engineering, and how this relates to our society. Volunteering with this event was a wonderful way for the team to engage the local community in discussions about genetic engineering and its impacts on a global scale.
Telus Spark: Adults Only Night
Many team members participated in a booth that we set up at the adults only night at our local science center, Telus Spark. There, we interacted with dozens of people from the general public by explaining what iGEM is and about our project while guiding them through an experiment where they got to make their own bioplastic using ingredients commonly found in the kitchen! Many people were excited to have fun while doing "science", where they got to use beakers and pipettes to measure out volumes.
Several people also had questions about what exactly genetic engineering is and they expressed their concerns about GMOs and other things they have heard about in recent years. Our team was able to meaningfully discuss these things with them and improve their understanding of the topic. Our team is passionate about equal access to knowledge and science and we feel that this event was a great opportunity for us to spread awareness of biological engineering and foster the acquisition of basic knowledge in that field.
