Last southern summer, Brazil, as a tropical country, faced an enormous dengue fever epidemic problem. Dengue is transmitted by infected mosquitos within the genus Aedes, which lay its eggs in standing water containers. During brazilian summer, it is used to rain a lot and, if there are rain-water-exposed recipients, the chances of spreading dengue fever increases.
    Based on that issue, using ways to aware people and make them change their habits in order to start preventing problems like those described above, it was proposed to get in touch with children and show them, playfully, how they could try to solve it. In that matter, in a partnership with UFSCar-Brasil team, it was possible to meet children from ‘PROVIM Dom Luciano Mendes de Almeida’, a communitarian center intended children from a not so wealthy neighborhood in São Carlos/SP, and present them a play called “The Mighty Bacteria against Dengue”. At that presentation, it was possible to show them a little about dengue fever disease symptoms, a little about what one may do if under those symptoms and ways to prevent it of happening.
    At that point, we were able to introduce, in a very easy way, how science, in especial synthetic biology, could help, as long as both projects (UFSCar-Brasil team’s and Brasil-USP team’s) could be represented at the play by two super bacteria: a mosquito-repellent one and a rubber-digester one.
    By the end of the day, all those children were divided in groups in order to plan Crotalaria juncea, a plant that helps in dengue control. Children’s feedback was very positive. They liked being in contact with that theme (and also dressing the play costumes). It was such an amazing experience interacting with them.