Difference between revisions of "Team:Wellesley TheTech/Outreach/Practices"
Sminchev17 (Talk | contribs) |
|||
| Line 43: | Line 43: | ||
<div id="pageContent"> | <div id="pageContent"> | ||
<h1>HUMAN PRACTICES</h1> | <h1>HUMAN PRACTICES</h1> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Both Wellesley College and the Tech Museum have a history of addressing issues of gender, class, and education privilege in their work. Thus, BacPack for New Frontiers was designed with the goal to educate members of the community while remaining cognizant of social issues. We identified several key factors that influenced our design and work process and helped us create an installation accessible to the general public. We separate these factors into two categories: those pertaining to social accessibility, such as gender, class, and education; and those pertaining to raising awareness of synthetic biology, such as public perception and engagement.</p> | ||
| + | <h3>Social Issues</h3> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | |||
| + | <h3>Perception Issues</h3> | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Our project aims to break away from the misconceptions that many people have about synthetic biology and its practices. Many members of the general public have misinformed opinions about what synthetic biology entails, and the exhibit was designed with that in mind. We chose to work in extreme environments (Mars, Antarctica, and the Deep Sea) precisely because they offer an uncharted territory that does not carry the negative connotations of modifying features of everyday life. All three of these environments offer exciting new challenges to conquer and explore, and help present synthetic biology in a positive light because of that. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Visitors of the museum can approach the exhibit without any preconceived notions, and interact with it in a game-like manner. This allows us to introduce key concepts of biotinkering and biodesign in a playful way. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
Revision as of 23:35, 11 September 2015
HUMAN PRACTICES
Both Wellesley College and the Tech Museum have a history of addressing issues of gender, class, and education privilege in their work. Thus, BacPack for New Frontiers was designed with the goal to educate members of the community while remaining cognizant of social issues. We identified several key factors that influenced our design and work process and helped us create an installation accessible to the general public. We separate these factors into two categories: those pertaining to social accessibility, such as gender, class, and education; and those pertaining to raising awareness of synthetic biology, such as public perception and engagement.
Social Issues
Perception Issues
Our project aims to break away from the misconceptions that many people have about synthetic biology and its practices. Many members of the general public have misinformed opinions about what synthetic biology entails, and the exhibit was designed with that in mind. We chose to work in extreme environments (Mars, Antarctica, and the Deep Sea) precisely because they offer an uncharted territory that does not carry the negative connotations of modifying features of everyday life. All three of these environments offer exciting new challenges to conquer and explore, and help present synthetic biology in a positive light because of that.
Visitors of the museum can approach the exhibit without any preconceived notions, and interact with it in a game-like manner. This allows us to introduce key concepts of biotinkering and biodesign in a playful way.