Based on the results of our Human Practices questionnaire, it became clear that people are unfamiliar with the benefits of biotechnology disciplines, and many of the participants were unsure of the difference between cultured and GMO products.
During the Researchers' Night, many secondary and primary school groups visited our programs. We were delighted to see how interested the children were in the science attractions and games. Speaking with their teachers, we learned that the curriculum includes little about biotechnology and GMOs.
Motivated by the experience, we visited several schools to give a presentation and answer their questions.
Our interactive lecture is structured as follows:
Since we knew students had already studied cell biology, we started the lesson with a quiz on GMOs. The quiz also highlighted the everyday uses of biotechnology, such as recombinant insulin production. We used Kahoot to conduct the quiz, where students could vote on the questions using their phones. In this way, we tried to make the game more interactive for the younger generations. The questions translated into English can be found below.
After the announcement of the results, we were happy to answer their questions and discuss their views.
After the game, we presented our iGEM project to them, and asked their opinions and whether they would use this type of therapeutic solution.
We showed them how our lighting devices work and the thought process that led to their creation. We wanted to encourage them to be motivated and creative enough to carry out projects themselves.
Lastly, we wrapped up our dedicated lesson with a plasmid puzzle game, also presented at the Researchers' Night, where students could create a plasmid of their imagination. Students also had success with our genetic code table-based puzzle.
