Introduction

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The aspect of education and public outreach concerning the issue of microplastics and the field of synthetic biology was very important to our team. The challenge was to increase awareness on environmental issues and to present possible solutions, being detailed and correct, but at the same time keeping the conversation accessible to a wide audience. In order to reach as many people as possible, we imagined several ways of raising awareness and providing information through different forms and in different contexts.

• The poster exhibition at the Aquatis aquarium-vivarium enabled us to reach a vast audience with a wide age range, in a place meaningful for our project.
• The creation of a game around synthetic biology and our project has enabled us to include a younger audience as well.
• A theme day on plastic pollution at a professional tailoring school (Scuola Arti e Mestieri di Sartoria / SAMS) enabled us to introduce synthetic biology to students whose curriculum has nothing to do with biology, but is related with the pollution of microplastics by textile fibers.

Posters Aquatis

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Primarily, we felt the importance of informing the general public and raising awareness of the problem of microplastics pollution. We therefore designed some illustrative and captivating posters. We wanted them to have as much visibility as possible, and to be exposed in a place meaningful for our project. We decided to contact the Aquatis aquarium-vivarium in Lausanne and ask them to host a small exhibition on the site. This location was chosen because water pollution is directly impacting the aquatic fauna represented in the Aquatis aquarium. Learning about microplastic pollution while being in front of species that may be directly affected has a greater emotional impact and encourages positive changes to prevent plastic pollution.
We have created four posters relevant for Aquatis public. Two of them are designed to provide general information, including some hard-hitting figures on the current situation of microplastics and their origins. Another poster focuses on our biofilm solution using synthetic biology, by introducing the scientific methods for better public accessibility. For the last poster, we explained the link between our project and the problem of microplastics by highlighting bioremediation, another technique that could be greatly improved by synthetic biology.

Poster in French.
Poster in German.
Poster in Italian.

Creating posters enabled us not only to inform and raise awareness of the problem of microplastics, but also to offer simple access to synthetic biology. However, it was essential for us not only to describe these issues, but also to create a constructive dialogue around them. This is why we decided to create a game, which would allow us to reach a younger audience and interact in a fun context.

Game

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We believe in the power of raising public awareness in an entertaining way, learning about the challenges and possible solutions of an issue while having fun, especially to engage a younger audience.
Therefore, our idea was to create a fun activity in the form of a game to introduce children to the problem of microplastics, and illustrate certain aspects of synthetic biology and laboratory behavior.
To do so, we created a board game and played cards with true/false or multiple choice questions on these two themes. In addition, the game is accompanied by a short introductory story, which helps to set the context by presenting the issue of plastic pollution.
This game is aimed at a young audience, but it is also suitable for a wider public.

We had the opportunity to present our game at a theme day on plastic pollution at the professional tailoring school (Scuola Arti e Mestieri di Sartoria / SAMS). Young people aged 15 to 18 were able to play the game, which led to further discussions on the topics raised during the game. The game will also be available to the public at Aquatis in the form of a QR code, allowing them to download and print it out to play. Download the game and play it with your friends and family!

Game in English:

Cards in English:

Game rules in English:

Game in French.
Cards in French.
Game rules in French.

Plastic pollution theme day at SAMS:

After sharing on Instagram the scientific poster that we presented at the Swiss-UK Synthetic Biology conference (see communication), we were contacted by the Scuola Arti e Mestieri di Sartoria (SAMS), a professional tailoring school in Ticino, Switzerland, which was interested in our project. As part of one of their courses called “general culture” during a module centered on ecology, the teachers try to raise their students' awareness of textile-related pollution. Textiles are indeed one of the major sources of microplastic pollution, as they release many fibers in the environment, for example during the washing process.
In response to their interest in our project, we decided to organize a day on the theme of plastic pollution at their school. It was especially important for us to raise awareness among young people whose field of studies is linked to the issue of microplastics.
The program for the day was divided into three parts. Firstly, we were able to present our project in some more detail. This provided an insight into what synthetic biology can do to tackle this kind of problem.
We then organized a waste collection event in the area around the school, as this gives us first-hand insights on the sources of plastic pollution around us.
In the afternoon, we had the opportunity to test our game on microplastics and synthetic biology (see game). The students were able to test their acquired knowledge, while learning more on the subject.

This experience enabled us to implement all the aspects needed to start a constructive conversation around our project, and more generally around synthetic biology. We got very positive feedback from the students, who showed a genuine interest in both the microplastic issue and its possible solutions.