Fundraisers: Darwin Day and the Chapel Hill Public Library!

Our team decided to hold our first fundraiser on Darwin Day at the Raleigh Museum of Natural Sciences. Darwin Day is meant for children and adults of all ages to learn about the way Darwin’s ideas, such as the theory of natural selection and the theory of evolution impact scientific research. Our team thought it would be a great idea to hold our first fundraiser at this venue considering that many of those in attendance would be interested in science and the scientific method. We were allowed to set up a booth at the museum and explain our project to passerby as a way to garner donations. In preparation, our team worked together to design a tri-fold display board explaining the logistics of the iGEM competition, our idea, and the research behind it. We raised awareness about the dangers of excess fluoride in third world water systems, introduced the novel riboswitch mechanism, sparked the curiosity of some middle schoolers interested in competing/starting their own iGEM team in the near future, all while raising funds! Additionally our team held multiple fundraisers during school lunches and at the Chapel Hill Public Library on weekends using our handy tri-fold display board, baked goods, and even frozen yogurt! These were great ways to gain practice in presenting our project and raising awareness about iGEM to the public.

Attached is a picture of our poster board:

Orange County Water and Sewer Association Interview and Documentary:

On June 12th, 2017, our team went to visit the Orange County Water and Sewer Association (OWASA) to ask some questions pertaining to our project background. We met with Ken Loflin, the Water Treatment Manager at OWASA who was kind enough to give us a tour of the facility; outlining where our water comes from, what “treatment” entails, and where it goes when we are done with it!