Education
Including:
●Synthetic Biology Picture Book Activity
●Official account activities
●Video Science Popularization
●Stall promotion
●Training 2024 iGEMers
●High school summer camp
Synthetic Biology
Picture Book
We use plain pictures to tell the story about our project and enable synthetic biology to accommodate more groups that are difficult to participate in scientific activities.
We contacted the school for children with autism and provided them with our picture books to gain a preliminary understanding of our project during the coloring process, allowing them to engage in synthetic biology in a relaxed and happy atmosphere.
At the same time, we carefully recorded our ideas and implementation process. When we went to Hainan to participate in the CCiC conference in July, we shared our plan and collaborated with many universities to name this event synbiorainbow. We shared the event planning book and told them how to draw picture books and get in touch with local institutions. The participated universities all have proceeded smoothly, and we have collected many picture book achievements from universities.
Figure 1 OUC and SDU's picture books
official account
We have provided a more accessible and entertaining approach to science communication: comics. Regardless of age or educational background, everyone can grasp the knowledge of synthetic biology.
To stimulate interest in synthetic biology among different age groups and educational backgrounds, and to make it easier for readers to understand, we used a casual tone and cute illustrations to explain the concepts. Therefore, we have created cartoon characters such as Little Witch, Yeast, and E. coli to tell stories and convey knowledge.
First, there is Little Witch, a girl responsible for transforming kitchen waste oil using synthetic biology. Her hat incorporates elements of oil droplets, the golden gears represent synthetic biology, and her dyed black hair in two sections represents the Chinese giant panda, hence we call it “panda dyeing”.Next is Yeast, the main engineered microorganism we use, with protrusions on its head representing the budding reproductive feature of yeast. Additionally, we have cartoon characters representing E. coli, kitchen waste oil, and medium-chain fatty acids.Escherichia coli is a symbol that echoes iGEM, so green is used. Below are introductions to our cartoon characters and the project comics we have created.
In addition, we have published multiple articles on the OUC-China team’s public WeChat account to popularize basic knowledge of synthetic biology and share information about our project.
Furthermore, in collaboration with seven other universities, we have launched a series of comics aiming to popularize milestone events in the history of biological development. Our chosen theme is “The Establishment of the Central Dogma”. We have carefully documented our ideas and implementation process, hoping to provide valuable experience for future iGEM team collaboration activities.
Figure 2 Science Popularization Figure 3 comic characters
PDF 1 Event planning proposal PDF 2 The comic book
Synthetic Biology
Short Video
In order to further expand the audience and exchange ideas with more talents from all over the country engaged in the biology industry, we have uploaded science popularization videos on Bilibili website.
We encountered some difficulties at the beginning of the experiment and were not familiar with the specific experimental procedures and reagent dosage. Therefore, we filmed a series of videos of commonly used experiments in synthetic biology, as well as hand-painted project promotional videos, which were uploaded to the Bilibili website for anyone who was troubled by the experimental operation to watch. We also welcome everyone to inquire about synthetic biology and experimental questions in the comments section, and we will do our best to answer them.
Figure 4 our account and video
Set up a
stall
In order to cover a wider group of people in our project, understand the opinions of local citizens on kitchen waste oil, and also to provide a brief introduction of synthetic biology knowledge to the public, we have designed a survey questionnaire.
On July 17, 2023, we set up a stall on Taitung Pedestrian Street in Qingdao. This is a bustling snack street with a high pedestrian flow, which generates a lot of garbage and kitchen waste oil. There are also more people playing, including the elderly, office workers, and snack shop owners. We distributed our questionnaire on the understanding and treatment methods of kitchen waste oil here. People who scanned the QR code to fill out the questionnaire could get gifts, which attracted many people to participate. We also explained to everyone that we wre a team from Ocean University of China, dedicated to degrading harmful substances in kitchen waste oil and recycling them. Passengers expressed that this project is very meaningful and can "turn waste into treasure".
The majority of the public have a clear understanding of kitchen waste oil and believe that reused oil is kitchen waste oil. However, most people hold a neutral attitude towards recycling and some believe it may be harmful, indicating that the current efforts to recycle waste oil have been successful or insufficient publicity efforts have been made. Therefore, we increasingly feel that it is necessary to promote in places with a large public and a wide coverage group.
Not only that, we have found that many people have a certain knowledge reserve for genetically modified organisms. We believe that in the future, everyone will also learn more about synthetic biology and support the development of synthetic biology.
Figure 5 Distribution of questionnaires and promotion
Training
2024 iGEMers
We received training from the senior iGEMers of the 2022 team, who helped us learn a lot, promptly corrected our mistakes, and guided us in our project. This year, it is our turn to recruit and train the new members. First, we conducted online presentations, introducing that the iGEM competition is based on synthetic biology, with diverse research directions, and also introduced the widely used technology such as CRISPR-Cas9. In the end, we answered the questions of the new students, and more than 60 freshmen chose to join our recruitment event!
After the interviews, more than 40 freshmen participated in long-term training activities and were divided into modeling and experimental groups according to their personal preferences to receive targeted training. During the semester, they had assignments to read “Introduction to Synthetic Biology” and answered some questions. During the summer vacation, they needed to study “Molecular Biology”. After completing their studies, they would do presentations based on previous year’s wiki, using the formal competition standards to deepen their impression and lay the foundation for future projects. We maintained a schedule of meeting once a week to accompany everyone in continuously learning new knowledge and making progress.
PDF 3 Synthetic Biology Learning Tasks PDF 4 Summer Training Tasks
PDF 5 Igem recruitment PPT
High School
Summer Camp
On August 24, 2022, our school organized a summer camp for high-school students. In order to introduce them to cutting-edge scientific knowledge, we conducted a Synthetic Biology Popular Science Lecture to stimulate their interest in learning.
These high school students may also become iGEMers in the future. We hope that our lectures can provide them with a preliminary understanding of synthetic biology, further explore the wonderful world of synthetic biology in their university studies, and further promote the development of synthetic biology.
Figure 6 Summer Camp Promotion Activities
PDF 6 Summer Camp PPT