Team:CityU HK/Game

Results - iGEM2015 wiki
           Introduction (Why are we doing this?) 

Who says ‘Fun’ and 'Science' cannot be combined? With a view to educating people about the controversial issues surrounding synthetic biology, allaying the fears this new field has generated, and to break the myth that science is not fun, the CityU iGEM team specially designed 2 interactive games to engage members of the general public in the fun of science. It is hoped that active participation by the public in learning through games about synthetic biology and our iGEM project would be an effective means to promote synthetic biology to the public. The two games we designed are described below.

BYO Bio-brick

       This game was designed to engage the community in the world of synthetic biology. Participants were provided with daily life situations. . Based on the situation assigned, participants were required to carefully choose the relevant 'Bio-bricks' to construct a target gene cassette to achieve a specific biological aim. The game allows the general public to construct their own custom-designed bacteria (biological machine) equipped with the desired functions. Guidance was provided during the course of the game to help the participants understand the concept of a biobrick while having fun.

Aims: 


    • To educate the general public about synthetic biology through a stimulating and interactive game.

Instruction

1) Participants were given a stack of cards.Each card was labeled with different component of a biobrick.

2) Short anecdotes about daily life situations were provided as context for participants to construct the gene cassette of interest.

3) Participants were asked to assemble the different Bio-bricks in a specific sequence in order to express the genes.
Think it is too easy to play? 


Take up our challenge and solve the puzzle of synthetic biology

Break Lac – Board game introduction
        For most people, dairy products are an essential part of their diet. In this board game, the main character is unaware that he suffers from lactose intolerance. He has the habit of drinking a glass of milk daily. 

          The four players are special cells with limited ability to digest lactose, and are responsible to help him break down the lactose he introduces into the intestine before he experiences diarrhea. CityU's iGEM project has been made the main feature of the game so that players can understand the concept of lactose intolerance.

Aims:


  • Allow the general public to learn and understand synthetic biology through game-playing

  • Make synthetic biology interactive and fun

  • Bridge the distance between synthetic biology and the community


This game will definitely drives you crazy


So addicted that there is no way to stop

Game Overview