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Team:Alberta/Project/Outreach
From 2009.igem.org
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REcoli Human Practices Component: High School OutreachOur Human Practices component consists of presentations and pamphlets for high school and junior high school students about synthetic biology, iGEM, and our project. We’re doing this outreach primarily for the high school students’ own interest and benefit. Synthetic biology is rapidly changing the biotechnology industry, and an understanding of synthetic biology would enrich a student’s consideration of career choices. Becoming excited about a potential career option can also provide motivation for academic success. Our outreach is also a service to the research community, as the more students who know about synthetic biology, the more who may pursue it as a career. A greater pool of human resources can increase the quantity and quality of research We believe that sharing one’s research with the community is an important responsibility, both to keep research accountable to the public and to open doors for the next generation to get involved. Even for those students who don’t pursue science, an exposure to what synthetic biology is allows them to make more informed, responsible choices as consumers and voters. Thus, through high school outreach, we’re setting a good example of good example of corporate social responsibility. Finally, we strive to learn how to better communicate synthetic biology to students. In order to evaluate the impact of our outreach, we collect feedback forms after presentations and have an online survey. |
PresentationsHeritage Youth Researcher Summer Program – Tues August 4thThis was a 15min presentation followed by 5min for questions. A survey was collected from the audience. The presentation was attended by 19 students who had just finished Grade 11 and were working in medical research lab for six weeks in the summer. Students were very interested in the applications for synthetic biology; we gave some examples of other iGEM projects, and needed to clarify that it’s not just for medical applications. We mentioned the idea of bacteria producing asphalt so they could re-grow roads with cracks in them, and the students thought that was very cool. I would suggest for future presentations we spend more time on synthetic biology in general and give more examples of other synthetic biology research. Africa Centre Summer Camp – Thursday August 5thThis was a 1 hour presentation for students in Grade 6-9 at a summer camp for African children. An outline of the presentation is attached. Students were very excited by the DNA extraction. One grouped perfectly solved the velcro problem in about 5min, and the other groups had similar ideas. They really liked squishing the agarose gel, though it was distracting from the discussion. They had a lot of questions about what’s possible with genetic engineering, and particularly if humans could be genetically engineered. Some examples we discussed were making organisms glow (GFP), human gene therapy, human cloning, and genetic muscle enhancement (myostatin). Some of them already knew the term genetic engineering, and most recognized DNA as being in bodily fluids and a type of ‘fingerprint’, but initially didn’t know much more. They were a bit restless by the end of the presentation, so keeping the presentation moving quickly was important. It was difficult to keep getting their attention back after hands on activities.
Edmonton Public Libraries Science and Technology Week - October 17thWISEST SET Conference for Grade 12 girls - November 28th |
Survey Results
This section can be used for a link to your survey, results and any general conclusions.
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