Science is not all about the work you do in a research laboratory, with your Erlenmeyer flask and your culture plates. Outreach is also an essential component in the field of science, where scientists can spread understanding to the general public.
This year's Stony Brook University's iGEM Team has worked hard to raise awareness of synthetic biology in a creative, fun, and interactive way. Whether it was at our University, in a Makers Fair, or in a nearby school district, we tried our best to reach as many people as possible. Utilizing a variety of communication methods which included, interactive presentations, games, arts and crafts, and fliers, we were able to capture the attention of our audiences. While engaging young minds to think like scientists, we were successful in explaining our project to people of various knowledge levels.
Participating in these events helped this year's Stony Brook University's iGEM Team create strong bonds.
During this event, we talked to incoming students about the many research opportunities available at Stony Brook University. We also mentioned the iGEM competition and the project that will be working on this summer. Through detailed explanations, we introduced the students to synthetic biology and tried to incite interest into the field of research. We clarified to the students that iGEM is an excellent research opportunity for students with a wide range of experience levels. We explained that participating in a summer's worth of research through iGEM will help them build a solid basis for research techniques. Qualities, such as teamwork and problem solving obtained through the iGEM experience, will be useful for almost all future professions. Additionally, we added that iGEM helps students network with Stony Brook professors in the STEM fields, which is exceptionally beneficial for incoming students.
This was a fundraising event that we hosted at Melville Library in Stony Brook during finals week. We advised students passing by to fuel their brains with the snacks we made. These homemade snacks included chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate-dipped pretzels, and M&M cookies. In addition to raising money for our research, we were successful in communicating our project with our fellow students and faculty. Many students passed by and asked what our cause was for and we introduced them to the iGEM competition and the field of synthetic biology. During this event, we were fortunate to meet Dr. Devinder Mahajan, who was willing to meet with us and help us with our project.
We visited a local high school in the East Meadow School District. During this visit, two of our team members presented to a research class with students ranging from Sophomores to Seniors at WT Clarke High School. We explained what iGEM is, the importance of synthetic biology and how it works, and what our project entails. In addition to spreading the knowledge of iGEM, we discussed how important it is to engage in research, and explained how one could start obtaining research experience at an early age. As a reminder of how molecular biology is fun and exciting, we gave the students temporary DNA tattoos. The teachers at WT Clarke High School enjoyed our visit and asked us to come back to present to first-year students. We gifted the faculty forum activity from Building with Biology called “Should we genetically engineer mosquitos?” to bring further interest about the ethical considerations of synthetic biology. We also sent them our PowerPoint as a resource for future students. While engaging students, we hoped to spark more interest in the field of synthetic biology by showing them the many opportunities that are available for them.
Another group of our team members visited Cardozo High School in Bayside. During this visit we introduced iGEM and the world of synthetic biology to a freshman accelerated biology class, and gave advice for students looking into research as a potential career.
We appealed to younger kids by changing up our activity from last year which involved the “See DNA” kit from iGEM. While the kit produced interesting conversations with attendees, we wanted younger children to gravitate towards us, so we decided to do an interactive arts and craft instead. We had the children make necklaces out of centrifuge tubes, colorful strings, colored water, and glitter. The children learned how to pipette various concentrations of the colored liquid, representing our cyanobacteria in lab, into the microcentrifuge tube with a medicine dropper or a micropipette. The glitter represented the nutrients that our cyanobacteria needed. Through our activity, we taught basic laboratory skills and cell culture concepts to children, teens, and adults. We also talked to parents and enthusiastic children about our project, and how we are engineering cyanobacteria to overproduce sucrose which can be used for ethanol in sustainable bio-fuel. We were also able to address concerns that parents and children had about synthetic biology and our project. Another way we attracted attention at this fair was by bringing along a parrot. Just like our cyanobacteria, the parrot (Gosha) is just as green and very friendly. Our table was filled with eager parents and children ready to learn from us.
We talked to the incoming Freshman class and their parents about synthetic biology, what it entails, and how students can be involved in research and make a difference in their fields of interest. Specifically, we talked to them about what iGEM is, what past projects have done, and what our project entails this year. Many were interested in our research program and asked about the workings of synthetic biology and undergraduate-led research. We were also able to address many of the ethical concerns parents had. They left with a positive outlook on synthetic biology and its’ applications.
Two members of our team spoke to a group of students that ranged from high school level to college in the program. Since most of our team have just finished their freshman year, we felt this was a great opportunity to mentor students who are entering the college process. We answered questions about college and then gave them a tour of the lab. We explained what iGEM was like and promoted the team to them.
During our visit to a science camp, held at the West DNA Learning Lab, three of our members presented to children in middle school and high school. Our presentation outlined the basics of biology, synthetic biology, and iGEM. Through our presentation, students were also able to learn about research opportunities at the high school and collegiate level. As an incentive to have the children participate, we handed out iGEM pens. The faculty at the DNA Learning Lab enjoyed our visit and asked us to present at future camps. We hope to spark further interest in students through our presentation and positive personal experiences in research.
A few of our members went to Accompsett Middle School to teach elementary school children about synthetic biology.
This year, Stony Brook iGEM created a new activity to help teach kids about synthetic biology - E. coli buddies! We wanted to create a fun new activity to make teaching syn bio interesting! The purpose of this activity is to teach main concepts of synthetic biology to young children. The main goal of synthetic biology is taking DNA with genes of interest and inserting them into microorganisms such as E. Coli or yeast and then that microorganism with produce proteins for our own. Before the activity, we attached velcro to the E coli we received from Giant Microbes, as well as to cardstock. This would stand as a base for the proteins that the kids would make. At the start of the activity, we explained to the kids that DNA is double stranded and has a double helix. Then, we asked them to pick two different colored strings which they twisted together to form the helix. Then, this string was tied to the E. coli in a ring to represent transforming the organism with a recombinant plasmid. Next, we explained that the DNA encodes for proteins. In order to make the activity more personalized and visual for the kids, we told them to design their own E. Coli by gluing craft supplies such as pom poms, glitter, googly eyes, pipe cleaners and beads onto the base we precut for them. In the process of this activity, the kids had a fun time learning about biology and the main concepts of synthetic biology.
To increase awareness of synthetic biology, we held a booth at the LaValle Movie Night, where parents and children from Suffolk County came to our University's football field to watch the animated movie Sing. To engage the children, we gave out pompoms and explained basic principles of biology and what molecular biology means. For older audiences, we handed out flyers explaining our project and spoke with parents and members of the community about what synthetic biology entails. Parents shared their personal concerns with GMO’s and synthetic biology in many aspects of day to day life. We were able to ease their worries by explaining the benefits of synthetic biology. Young children were also able to grasp the advantage of our project in helping the environment. Nonetheless, many were very interested to see what we were doing and teaching! A fun event for the community and for the iGEM team as well.
Although there is a steady increase of women entering STEM field, they are still outnumbered by men. Girls Inc. is an organization that focuses on empowering young girls with research-based activities and other programs. Our visit to Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), where the Girls Inc. event was held, was both stimulating for the girls and for our team. We started our visit by observing a panel of executives from companies and corporations, such as National Grid, providing insight and advice on how to succeed. Next, we presented about iGEM, our project, synthetic biology, and even gave a “crash course” on basic biology terminology. The girls were captivated and asked us questions about our research experience and advice on what classes they should take. To further enrapture the girls, five team members created a game to crystalize the concepts of genes and promoters. In order to solve a real world problem, the girls were asked to create theoretical gene circuits with promoters, genes and restriction enzymes. The girls were creative in producing their gene circuits. For example, one girl came up with a sensor that would detect high acidity and would show bioluminescence in the presence of pollution and other girls tried to tackle diseases such as Alzheimer's and diabetes. Then, they were given two different colored string to represent the DNA that they twisted and tied together to create plasmid DNA. Our activity was a success as we were invited back to present to BNL.
After spending hours perfecting our interactive presentation, we were successful in introducing synthetic biology to students between the grades of 7 and 9. We began our visit by explaining to the students what iGEM is, our project, and how it is essential to get involved in research at an early age. Afterward, we gave a quick crash course on specific terms and concepts in synthetic biology such as restriction enzymes, DNA ligase, proteins, and how recombinant DNA if formed. Ultimately leading to our interactive arts and crafts where the students were able to insert their genes into plasmids. Many of these middle schoolers had fascinating questions, and the iGEM students answered them diligently. After the arts and craft, the students walked away with a complimentary iGEM pen, a plasmid made up of twisted string, a syringe that mimicked the process of recombination, and the basic knowledge of synthetic biology. The pictures we took can not even express how rewarding the students felt with their experience in this interactive event.
Since Stony Brook University is an exceptionally active research university, it has a lot of programs over the summer in which local students can obtain research experience and learn about biology. One of these programs is the iSTEM Biotechnology Program. A few of our members presented to the students to give them a crash course on our project and applications of synthetic biology. Since most of them have already learned about basic synthetic biology concepts, they asked insightful questions about our project.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
