1.  Overview

As a high school iGEM team, we leveraged our unique position of being relatable to younger children and our close ties to the community to focus our educational outreach. Therefore, we posted invitations to events in our community to promote education and attracted a lot of elementary school students ages 7-12 who became very interested in iGEM and the purpose and meaning of our program. We all agreed that participating in iGEM was very interesting. More importantly, we now have a deeper understanding and appreciation of issues related to vaccines and health. In addition, we found that discussions about DNA, RNA, and viruses are very common among elementary and middle school students, so we ended up designing a science community activity for elementary school students.

 

In today's digital landscape, misinformation about COVID-19 is rampant. We've observed a concerning trend: many people, both in China and globally, mistakenly believe that the pandemic is over and that health risks have been mitigated. Some even go as far as to argue that vaccination is not only a waste of resources but also harmful to individual health . Disturbingly, these misconceptions extend to synthetic biology, which some view as detrimental to human health and well-being. These views are appalling. We therefore believe that we need to conduct educational programs online as well to guide those who have misconceptions about synthetic biology.

 

2  Offline education activities

On 13 July, our team went to Beijing Community Service Station (Juzhang Hutong) to conduct community education activities. Since our target audiences are elementary school students ages 7-12 , our education activities are organized around three main areas : The first area is “What is a virus?”, which introduces the basics related to viruses and the initial distinction between viruses and pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria. The second area is "What is a vaccine?" which introduces the principles of viruses infecting cells and vaccines promoting the body's production of antibodies (the basis of our program), in addition to discussing cases related to biologics and genetically modified products. We wanted our sharing to be effective and helpful, so we designed interactive trivia games and Q&A activities for feedback from those who attended.

 

(Figure 1 Offline   education)

( 1) Playdough simulation virus

Before delving into the complexities of viruses and bacteria, we launched  a playdough simulation activity.

We provided participants with playdough and encouraged them to craft their own imaginative models of viruses. This hands-on experience was designed to introduce the engineering principles of synthetic biology, including modularity and standardization. By creating their own 'synthetic' viruses, participants were exposed to the idea that biological systems can be engineered and assembled from individual parts, much like their playdough models. This activity not only sparked their interest in microbiology but also provided a foundational understanding of how synthetic biology employs engineering concepts to study and combat viruses.

 

 

(Figure 2 Game 1 )

 

(2) Virus Game

In order to provide participants with a deeper understanding of the pathways of relevant viruses and the principles of different technologies such as vaccines and antigen/nucleic acid testing, a set of puzzles was developed and prepared in-house. These interactive games allowed students and their parents to explore how synthetic biology plays a crucial role in developing vaccines and diagnostic tests. After engaging with these educational tools, attendees expressed a heightened understanding of not just viruses, but also the synthetic biology techniques used to combat them

 

 

(Figure 3 game 2 )

 

( 3) Q&A

Before the end of the event, we had a quiz with prizes. To our surprise, the vast majority of the younger participants had a better understanding of vaccines and their roles and were inspired to take an interest in synthetic biology.

 

(Figure 4 game 3 )

 

We believe that after this offline educational event, these children and their parents will have a deep understanding of vaccines and synthetic biology, and will be able to bring their friends together to learn and understand the profound impact of synthetic biology. And for our team, it is an remarkable experience that having this meaningful and educational time with younger learners.

 

 

 

3  Online education activities

While preparing to set up an official account, we realized that there are many extreme and even erroneous pseudo-scientific views on the Internet. However, many older people are convinced by these claims, and young people are also confused by them. We've observed that there's a significant gap in public understanding about COVID-19 and the role of vaccines. What's more disconcerting is the apprehension many people feel toward synthetic biology and genetic engineering technologies. This fear often leads them to avoid products and advancements that could actually benefit them, which we find deeply regrettable. It underscores the urgent need for educational initiatives that demystify these technologies and clarify their potential for positive impact . Therefore, we not only use this official account as a platform for knowledge sharing but also hope to practice the social responsibility emphasized by iGEM by publishing correct scientific information.

 

We constructed our official   account  on WeChat, the most common platform in China, and launched a special science popularization of "synthetic biology and related vaccines" on the account. Prior to the popularization of the science, questionnaires on synthetic biology, life sciences, and pneumonia were conducted to non-biological professionals such as middle school students, the elderly, and office workers, and answers were provided in Chinese.

 

 

(Figure 5 WeChat platform)

 

We also showed our experimental works on YouTube, and we hope that the public can participate in synthetic biology as we do. By the end of August, our promotional tweets had accumulated over 1,000 views. A number of people have also sent us messages asking us to provide more information about the biology and synthetic biotechnology. A number of people were also interested in our vaccine products and contacted us privately to see if we had completed the development of the vaccine and made it available to the public. We have responded positively and made a number of adjustments. We have quoted the official health education video to help people learn and understand synthetic biology in a more professional way.

 

 

(Figure 6 Vlog   on  YouTube )

 

4 Education materials

For the online and offline educational activities, we have prepared a lot of Chinese posters, brochures, etc. All education materials are used in our online and offline education events.  Please find the picture and attachment of the created tools below.

 

Education Posters

 

(Figure 7a   Education  materials)

 

 

B rochures

（ Please click here for the attachment-19b ）

 

(Figure 7 b   Education  materials)

 

Education PPT for elementary school students

（ Please click here  for the attachment-19c ）

 

(Figure 7c   education  materials)

 

We also developed a set of game cards for this purpose. The idea for the game cards comes from one of the hottest board games currently being played in China. We borrowed the idea of this board game and designed characters like viruses, vaccines, detectors and susceptible people. The rules are that a virus can choose to infect a susceptible person, a vaccine can protect a susceptible person from infection, a detector can find out if a test subject is a virus, and each player acts once a day, and after the action, chooses a possible virus through discussion and decision-making and opens a poll. Until all viruses are voted out or all susceptible are infected. （ Please click here for the attachment - 20b ）

 

(Figure 8a   Education  materials)

 

(Figure 8b   Education  materials)

 

 

5 Conclusion

Through an array of educational initiatives, we've successfully imparted essential knowledge about vaccinations, infection prevention, and overall health, all while integrating key principles of synthetic biology. We have prepared a precise program of educational activities for both the offline education of primary school children and the Internet-based online education of the general public. According to our post-campaign surveys and interaction with the campaign materials, the results were remarkable. However, as a high school team, we are limited in our ability to reach out to our audience, . We've done what we can to lay the groundwork, but there's more work to be done  in the future . We urge the wider community and society to expand upon our initial efforts. By doing so, we can collectively foster a more informed public, not just in terms of general health but also in the nuanced field of synthetic biology.