Team:SCAU-China/Communication
We hope to spread the knowledge about synthetic biology and heavy metals to more people. In order to achieve this goal, we have completed a series of different forms of popular science activities for the people from elementary school students to university students. We use different forms to improve the public's understanding of synthetic biology and the importance of heavy metal pollution.
Education
Popular Science Education for Primary School Students
Due to the success of our presentation at the Bauhinia Science and Technology Cultural Festival, some parents from the primary school attached to our school even sent us an invitation, hoping that we could go to the school to hold a popular science education. Therefore, we held a special synthetic biology science education special for elementary school students.
We selected "synthetic biology" and "genetic engineering" and other content. We introduced synthetic biology from the most basic genes, traits, etc. Then the central dogma, genetic engineering, biosecurity, genetic engineering applications, our project and knowledge about how to prevent COVID-19 were introduced too. The whole process was going by the way that children can understand. During this period, the children of our affiliated primary school interacted enthusiastically with us and were very interested in our popular science. This popular science education activity has been accepted by the teachers of affiliated primary school and the teachers of South China Agricultural University. The children have indicated that the content is concise and easy to understand, and they have learned new knowledge about synthetic biology.
This activity also makes us think of carrying out a full range of popular science education activities, so that biological science knowledge further deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. We hope that the breadth and depth of popular science education could bring a special experience to different ages groups.
Figure 1: Popular Science Education for Primary School Students
Popular Science Education for Middle School Students
As an interdisciplinary subject with multi-disciplinary integration, synthetic biology requires a certain reserve of knowledge in order to let people understand it better. Middle school students have these foundations and are in the golden age of cultivating and expanding their interests. They are excellent people for preaching. Therefore, we gave a lecture on synthetic biology science education to students of Guangdong Experimental Middle School in the form of live broadcast.
We introduced the basic concepts of synthetic biology to students such as what technical methods will be used in research process, the application scenarios of synthetic biology and the possible solutions to the world's problems. At the same time, we also interacted with them and have gotten their whimsical ideas on the application and development of synthetic biology.
Throughout the live broadcast, the students showed strong interests in synthetic biology, and some of them also expressed their desire to engage in synthetic biology research in the future, which also made us very excited. For us, this activity may be just one of many human activities, but for them, it may open up a whole new world for their future. In order to continuously encourage them to maintain their interest in synthetic biology, we provide our WeChat public account to them. We will continue to provide them with cutting-edge science and answer their doubts.
Figure 2: Popular Science Education for Middle School Students
Laboratory Open Day
In order to allow middle school students to better feel the charm of synthetic biology, we held an open laboratory day, inviting them to visit our laboratory and introduce them to basic life science experiment principles, functions and use of experimental instruments Method, and take them to do some simple experiments by themselves. During this process, the children were very excited and focused, and they cried out excitedly when they saw the experimental results succeeded.
We are very happy to bring the joy of science to children, to bring them to experience the fun of experimentation, and to cultivate their rigorous scientific thinking. Although this is a small step, it may also become an active guide for them to enter scientific research in the future. We are also proud of it.
Figure 3: Laboratory Open Day
Popular Science Education for University Students
We have always hoped to expand our scope of influence and conduct publicity and communication with people of different professional backgrounds. University students have a wide range of professional backgrounds, which allows them to start from different perspectives when understanding synthetic biology and our projects, which in turn brings multi-dimensional thinking and discussion.
Together with CHINA-FAFU and BUCT-China, we organized an online science lecture on synthetic biology for university students, introduced them to the principles and practical applications of synthetic biology using microorganisms as a starting point, and demonstrated the projects of the three teams. After the explanation session, we interacted with the audience. Many of them said that this was a very exciting lecture, and we learned that some students with liberal arts background are more familiar with synthetic biology because they don't have relevant knowledge. Full of curiosity, it also makes us more convinced that the work we are doing is meaningful and needed.
Figure 4：Popular Science Education for University Students
Communication
Social Public Survey Questionnaire
We released a questionnaire to the public in March 2020 to understand the public awareness of heavy metal pollution. In the end, we collected 575 feedback, covering a wide range of professional backgrounds and some stakeholders.
From the feedback, the vast majority of people "do not understand" and "slightly understand", and from the feedback of "identifying heavy metals", the public's recognition of heavy metals is very low. this reminds us to strengthen the publicity and popularization of this knowledge in the next human practice. At the end of the questionnaire, we also introduced to the public some major events of heavy metal pollution and the correct practices of heavy metal pollution events encountered in daily life, in order to improve public awareness of heavy metal pollution.
Figure 5: Social Public Survey Questionnaire
Bauhinia Science & Technology Festival
In March, we made use of the Bauhinia Science and Technology Culture Festival held by the school to introduce the science popularization of synthetic biology and our project to the public offline. The participants included primary school students, middle school students, university students and social people. We use different games to help them understand our project and let our participants know more about heavy metal pollution, such as the harm of heavy metals, the sources of heavy metal pollution and so on. And tell them how to avoid the threat of heavy metals in their lives.
In the Bauhinia Science and Technology Culture Festival, we also got a lot of suggestions to promote our project. For example, how to ensure biosafety? Can the improvement of the device be more complex and perfect to make a miniature sewage treatment plant? Can multiple heavy metal binding proteins be linked together to form a multi-effect pollution control element? All these are considered in our project design to help us solve the problem of heavy metal pollution.
Figure 6: Bauhinia Science & Technology Festival
