Team:Hong Kong HKU/School Visits/ex

Http://2014hs.igem.org/Team:UCL Academy - 2014.igem.org

SCHOOL VISITS

Session I

Date: July 2, 2015
Venue: Po Leung Kuk Fong Wong Kam Chuen Primary School
Target: P.5 students (4 classes)

Session II

Date: July 7, 2015
Venue: Po Leung Kuk Castar Primary School
Target: P.5 students

BACKGROUND

In current decades, the topic of “DNA” or “Gene” has been brought to hot discussion in the society, such as genetically modified (GM) food, cloning, genetic medicine, etc. Many movies also consist of components related to “gene”, for example Jurassic World, Spiderman, Captain America, and such like. However, how many people really know what DNA is? How many people really understand the function of gene? How many people really recognize the mechanism behind the story?

To have more people in Hong Kong appreciate the idea of synthetic biology, we decided to start everything with primary school kids because they are known to be the future capstone of the city.

CONTENT

Throughout the visit, we explained the basic idea of DNA and genetic engineering, including the “evolution” from DNA to RNA to protein, and the development of which to the students with the help of videos and animations. In order to make the whole presentation feels more relevant to their daily lives, we took cloning (e.g. Dolly the sheep) and GM (e.g. tomatoes) food as examples to talk about the principles of gene technology. Moreover, we tried to raise some social concerns regarding to GM food with the children by providing them materials and had a short discussion on the pros and cons of GM food in modern society.

Presentation slides: School Visits_Presentaion

Discussion materials: School Visits_Discussion

PHOTOS

Reflection

“The content of the present is quite suitable to primary school level… and the children are having fun throughout the whole event...”

    (Mr. Fan Chi Chung, Po Leung Kuk Fong Wong Kam Chuen Primary School)

“I have learnt a lot about gene in the presentation… I can understand the principle of genetic engineering easily from the presentation...”

    (Albert Chan, P.5B, Po Leung Kuk Fong Wong Kam Chuen Primary School)

“It is my first to hear the criticism on GM food. I think I may bring this discussion with my mum after school...”

    (Peter Lam, P.5A, Po Leung Kuk Castar Primary School)