Team:Sydney Australia/Outreach
Contents
- 1 Alexandria Park Community School Outreach
- 2 Science in the Swamps
- 3 Australian Museum Science Festival: JAMS Stall
- 4 Australian iGEM Meet Up
- 5 [http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/syd-uni-designer-genomes-in-world-competition/6525626 ABC Science Show Radio Interview]
- 6 Rotary talks
We wholeheartedly support the importance that iGEM places on the need to provide information to the public with regards to synthetic biology and its applications. We understand the need to inform students about synthetic biology and how it can solve problems to ensure a sustainable future. We understand that a strong understanding of the ethical considerations of each application has to be instilled to avoid misuse of the technology. We also believe that without training our students, we cannot train a new generations of researchers which can carry the research forward.
Furthermore, by increasing public awareness, we can teach communities about the benefits and dangers of synthetic biology to tackle the epidemic of pseudoscience used to oppose all synthetic biology research. It is the scientists' responsibility to maintain a bridge between science and the public to ensure that groundbreaking research is supported and only unethical research is opposed.
Hence, as part of our outreach program, we tried to engage everyone in as many communities as we can across many different demographics. We gave talks at various Rotary clubs in Sydney, gave an interview to the prominent popular science radio station ABC Science Show by Robyn Williams to inform the community of the ongoing contribution of synthetic biology to the society in order to maintain mutual understanding and trust between the science community. Furthermore, to educate the younger students, we set up stalls at several festivals including Science in the Swamps, Australian Museum Science Festival and a workshop ran at Alexandria Park Community School (APCS). You can find more information below.
Alexandria Park Community School Outreach
[http://www.alexparkcs-c.schools.nsw.edu.au/ APCS] is a public school in the inner suburbs of Sydney, and Matt's previous school. On the 22nd July, we conducted two workshops at the school for year 10 and 12 senior high school students. In the morning session, we talked to year 12 biology students about university, biology, genetics and cloning. We also talked about the ethics behind making GMOs. The students also asked couple of good questions from us regarding the whole cascade of DNA to RNA to protein and what are functions or significance of each. All this was done over delicious scones, jam and coffee thanks to Mr Peter Miller, the students' very generous biology teacher.
After an hour of informal talk with the year 12 biology class, we conducted our workshop for year 10 science. This was the nail biting moment behind a week of preparation. We started with giving a talk about synthetic biology, the use of cloning to generate GMOs and also explaining the process of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) in the context of forensic analysis of a crime scene. Using all that knowledge, we explained what we are trying to do in our project. We also ensured to highlight the ethics behind the use of synthetic biology, where it should only be used in appropriate projects such as making good quality pharmaceuticals products.
After the short talk, we set up a gel electrophoresis tutorial and allowed everyone to load some samples. Then, we showed a pre-stained agarose DNA gel to show what it will look like. Then, couple of our members roamed around different groups with Matt explaining how to make GMO bacteria by showing the students some funky colourful E.coli and Harry talked about engineering and maths by showcasing his new gadget for automated gel electrophoresis timing. Mark gave an impassioned speech on synthetic biology and helped Sandi in showcasing gel electrophoresis and loading. Lizzie, Matt and Harry went around and talked with all students about synthetic biology and answered all questions. At the same time, we gave everyone two worksheets on DNA fingerprinting and cloning in easy language to have a resource for further referral.
At the end of the session, we received a heartwarming applause form the students and the teachers were really thankful and impressed by our workshop. But at the end of the day, the enthusiasm of the students in listening to us, answering challenging questions and participating in the activities was what really made us leave the school with big smiles on our faces.
Activity 1: Merlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Stolen Pen
Science in the Swamps
Australian Museum Science Festival: JAMS Stall
Australian iGEM Meet Up
Thanks to the kind efforts of the University of New South Wales iGEM team, we met at the university with other iGEM teams from UNSW and Macquarie and exchanged ideas and collaborated by listening to the progress of each team. Ideas were exchanged and teams exchanged things they could do for each other to help with either research or the outreach efforts. We were then treated with a good old Aussie BBQ and drinks and got to know each other better. We would like to thank UNSW iGEM 2015 again for organising the meet up and treating us with great food.
[http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/syd-uni-designer-genomes-in-world-competition/6525626 ABC Science Show Radio Interview]
Two of our members, Gaia and Harry, decided to enlist in the frightening journey of radio interview. They spoke to Robyn Williams, renowned scientists and radio presenter of the famous nationwide popular science radio show, [http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/ ABC Science Show with Robyn Williams], run by the national broadcaster [http://www.abc.net.au/ Australian Broadcasting Corporation]. They talked about designing genes, cloning and use of synthetic biology in manufacturing vital compounds difficult to make using traditional chemical synthesis methods. To listen to this enlightening interview, click on the hyperlink in the title.
Listen to our interview by downloading it here.
Rotary talks
We participated in giving talks to various Rotary clubs to communicate with communities across Sydney and different demographics, most prominently with no to little science background and passed the stage of tertiary education. At every talk, we were posed with many questions ranging from the previous applications of synthetic biology to how we use various techniques such as cloning to create our genetically modified bacteria. We were also asked about patents which we found to be the hardest question. Maybe next time we should include a lawyer in our team!
We believe that this was very successful and other teams should think about including Rotary talks in their outreach programs. The large number of good questions that we were being asked showed that our message came across very well. The audience were dazzled and enlightened every time, approaching us at the end of the talk to inquire more about synthetic biology and our project.
The best response I received from a Kings Cross Rotary member to our project was that "only 50 years ago we just found the structure of the DNA, and now not only we know so much other than the structure, but that we are creating new organisms." This really gets you thinking and gives you a very enlightening perspective.