Overview

As scientific researchers, it is our responsibility to build a bridge between science and society. How to make synthetic biology and iGEM out of the laboratory and into the public is what we have been thinking about.
During our communications with iGEMers of other teams, we found that there were still questions about synthetic biology and iGEM that the general public doesn't understand, so solving these problems had become the educational goal of our project.In addition, when doing a questionnaire survey on intestinal problems, we discovered that most people only pay attention to intestinal health when they already have problems with their gut. The lack of attention to intestinal health can sometimes lead to serious problems, so it is also our responsibility to help people develop the concept of protecting intestinal health.
At the same time, considering the cognitive differences of different-aged people, we carried out hierarchical popular science education activities.

Facing different age levels

1.For undergraduates
Freshman science lectures

We decided to expand the influence of iGEM competition and synthetic biology in our school, so we gave a lecture for freshmen. The aim is to explain in detail what synthetic biology is and what we have gained in the course of our research this year. During the questioning, they asked a lot of questions, wondering how they needed to join us, and it seems that we have succeeded in getting more people involved in synthetic biology.

Our lecture attracted over 160 freshmen, most of whom knew synthetic biology and iGEM for the first time. We were very surprised that there were more than 80 people willing to learn more about synthetic biology. We set up a group chat for them to answer their questions more conveniently.

In addition, we held a symposium for some interested students and answered their questions about synthetic biology and iGEM in detail

Into the world of synthetic biology
We participated in the five-school joint science lectures on " Into the world of synthetic biology " hosted by SZPT-CHINA. Each team gave a wonderful science lecture on synthetic biology from the aspects of cosmetics and cultural relic restoration. Our team popularized the applications of synthetic biology in the diagnosis of tuberculosis and cancer.

Lecture of GUT ALLIANCE
After the 4th Northwestern China iGEM Meetup, we called together gut-related teams this year to form the GUT ALLIANCE. Through the discussion of each team, we carried out a lecture on intestinal knowledge. You can click there to know more about this.
Hyperspace post office
To arouse students' interest and let them have a deeper understanding of synthetic biology and iGEM, NWU-CHINA-A, together with NPU-CHINA and XJTU-China, organized an activity called hyperspace post office. Participants could write down any questions they had about synthetic biology or our projects on the postcards, which we sent and exchanged to answer their confusions.

After a week of circulation, we collected all postcards and exchanged them among the three teams. During the activity, everyone could read the postcards of different participants in the event and discuss with each other. We organized the activity in various places on our campus and sent postcards to students. At the end of this activity, we answered the unresolved questions based on their feedback and presented gifts to participants.

Charity sale
Education is widely regarded as the basic resource of individuals and society. We believe that children living in remote areas also have the right to know and learn. As a team with a strong sense of social responsibility, NWU-CHINA-A hopes to contribute to solving this educational dilemma. We jointly organized a charity sale event with NPU-CHINA and XJTU-CHINA. We made profits from college students, and donated all the profits to schools in remote areas for them to purchase biological teaching materials. At the same time, we also gave out our intestinal knowledge science popularization handbooks (You can click there to know more about this) to them to broadcast synthetic biology and iGEM competition.

2.For middle school students

Together with DKU _ China, we had a special lesson for Beijing No.22 Middle School.We talked about the basics of synthetic biology, our project, what iGEM is and how it affects the world. The course was a great success with warm applause and positive responses from students. Through this course, they gained a basic understanding of synthetic biology and iGEM. Also, they shared what they had learned in the class with their friends and parents after school.

3.For kids

Compilation of a Science Book on Synthetic Biology
At the beginning of the project, three students of our team participated in the preparation of a popular science book on synthetic biology launched by Dr. Li Shiyuan, institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Academy of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Dr. Li Shiyuan is one of the inventors of CRISPR-Cas12, whose main research fields include DNA splicing technology, DNA encryption, CRISPR gene editing and CRISPR detection. We were responsible for the applications of synthetic biology in medical, energy, cosmetics, space, diagnosis, environment and the outlook section. We used a humorous and witty writing style to provide a more comprehensible platform for primary and secondary school students to understand synthetic biology.Proof of participation in writing is as follows.

iGEM Hangzhou Low-Carbon Museum
Besides, we participated in a online science popularization activity organized by LZU-CHINA, SZ-SHD and WS_HZBIOX for children in the Hangzhou Low-Carbon Science And Technology Museum. The main purpose of the activity was to popularize synthetic biology and help people understand the latest first-hand information on colon cancer. The activity was mainly divided into three parts: DNA model making, pipette gun head spelling and plasmid balloon making. There was also a special project: moving towards synthetic biology and declaring war on colon cancer. In this special project, we gave a brief description of synthetic biology and our project this year to children, which received a good response.

Facing the public
Exhibitions by R. Lab

In order to make the public more vivid and intuitive understanding of intestinal knowledge, popularize the concept of protecting intestinal health, we were invited by the president of the R.Lab, Lan Canhui, to hold a ' intestinal science and art ' popular science illustration tour in our school. The exhibition had attracted many teachers, students and children to visit. They could scan the two-dimensional code attached to the painting to understand the details. In addition, we also explained for them, and the event received a good response. You can click there to know more about this.