Education | Wright State

CONTENTS

STEM Ed. Events

For the 2023 season, we collaborated with The Ohio State University iGEM team and planned activity days for the visitors at the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery (Dayton, Ohio) and Center of Science and Industry (Columbus, Ohio) about synthetic biology.

Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, Dayton, Ohio
Together with The Ohio State University iGEM team, we visited the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery where we hosted activities designed to highlight iGEM, synthetic biology, water quality, and the impact of manganese contamination. At the event, we set up various activity stations explaining this year's projects and the iGEM program. The stations included a variety of activities that demonstrated the science of synthetic biology. Using our experience from last year, we adjusted this year's activities to fit the age range of the visitors from 3 years and older. This year, we worked towards expanding our project from last year so we decided to introduce a few different activities relating to our project. We created a “Water Filter Engineering Design Challenge” and “Ask Scientist Sam” protocols for the activity day. The engineering design challenge was a hands-on activity that allowed the visitors to use their knowledge and creativity to build a water filter to filter out unclean water. This was designed to explain how our team's projects can be implemented. The Scientist Sam Trivia game was aimed to introduce iGEM to a younger audience and served as an opportunity to ask questions about various disciplines of synthetic biology. These activities allowed visitors to get an understanding of how synthetic biology is used in iGEM projects and helped to broaden their horizons of synthetic biology.
Center of Science and Innovation (COSI), Columbus, Ohio
We also collaborated with The Ohio State University iGEM team for the second time this season by having a synthetic biology outreach event at the COSI museum. We utilized the same protocols and activities from the Boonshoft outreach event which were tailored to suit COSI's diverse audience to ensure an informative and enjoyable time for all. We were able to provide an interactive and informative experience for over 300+ visitors that introduced synthetic biology to the community. Our collaboration with The Ohio State University iGEM team for a second event at COSI was a great success, thanks to the adaptability and resonance of our protocols and activities.

STEM Activities

To further support educational efforts and foster a wider appreciation for synthetic biology, we've made the protocols available for others to utilize and adapt. By sharing our knowledge and experiences, we hope to inspire and empower others to engage with and learn from the exciting realm of synthetic biology.

The protocols for our STEM activities are provided below for others to use in their own STEM events. Take a look!

Water Filter Engineering Design Challenge

Ask Scientist Sam Triva Game

Education Impact

The purpose of our outreach events was to educate and connect with our community. Through both outreach events held at COSI and the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, our goal was to present interactive STEM-based educational activities to educate children and families on the importance of water conservation and testing. By taking part in the various experiments provided by our iGEM team members, participants were able to learn new information and skills related to STEM from their interaction with our team. By engaging the children with hands-on activities, we conveyed our enthusiasm for science, and hopefully got others excited about science as well! Our activities also led to meaningful conversations with curious parents, allowing us to expand awareness of our research and iGEM's mission.

Our “Water Filter Engineering Design Challenge” was created with the intention to teach a simplified version of our project. Guests had the chance to engage in a hands-on activity paired with an interactive story that communicated the importance of water quality safety. As guests completed this activity our team was able to answer questions regarding the importance of water quality and how that ties into our project's mission.
The “Ask Scientist Sam'' protocol was created to educate guests with iGEM and synthetic biology trivia questions. Guests had the chance to read through a story with Scientist Sam where, along the way, they learned about iGEM and how synthetic biology is tied into the organization and project creation. At the station for this protocol parents and young guests were able to learn more about iGEM from the student perspectives which gave our team the chance to tie each conversation into informing our guests about our water quality project.

Social Media

A goal we are continuing to work toward from the last iGEM 2022 season is to make more of an educational impact through social media. As the influence of social media begins to grow in prevalence, our team understands that this communication path is a great way to get the public's attention and to spread awareness about who we are as a team and what we do in the community. We also understand how social media can be used as a vital tool in spreading educational content to our community.

We continue to utilize hashtags as a tool to connect with other teams and individuals who hold similar interests to the content we share. This 2023 season we have revived our #SynbioSaturdays weekly posts. Released every Saturday, these posts serve as a great way to share educational content related to synthetic biology and iGEM.

Postings on our Instagram and Twitter accounts also share who our team is with introduction posts, as well as what our team does in efforts toward community outreach. Each week before an outreach event we post a flier sharing where our event is hosted and inviting anyone to participate. Utilizing social media in the ways we have has provided us the opportunity to connect with different scientific and iGEM communities, even to our very own campus community at Wright State University.

Education Impact of Social Media Activities:

Our social media posts under the hashtag #SynbioSaturdays were reinstated with the purpose of educating our community. Each post focuses on an iGEM or synthetic biology related subject that shares a wide range of information such as the topic's purpose, benefits, or applications. Through this our followers have the chance to be introduced to new concepts they may not have previously been educated on.