Target

The participants of the May Festival, which is a festival held every year at the University of Tokyo.

Purpose

We exhibited a card game, named "ATP Battle" at the UTokyo's school festival, and had the participants play with it. Participants, ranging from elementary school students to adults who have never experienced synthetic biology, enjoyed experiencing a part of designing gene circuits through the ATP Battle, in which the aim is to produce as much ATP as possible by assembling genetic circuits with various cards that resemble BioBricks.

Educational Materials

We created an original card game where players can experience the basics of synthetic biology, named "ATP Battle." Here is the rulebook for ATP Battle.

Contents

Before playing the game, we explained the general information of the game, such as what promoters and genes are, as well as the basics of synthetic biology using the slides. Participants were then divided into groups of four to listen to explanations from iGEM members and actually play the ATP Battle.

Feedback

We conducted a survey on twitter, and 75% (33) of the 44 respondents who played the game said they would purchase the game if it were on sale.

Impact

There were several small children among those who actually played ATP Battle. The children tended to understand the rules of the game faster than the accompanying adults and they enjoyed playing the game. This suggests that our game, ATP Battle, can help children enjoyably and effectively understand the mechanism of promoters activated by lights and proteins produced from genes.

Target

We held an educational event for junior and senior high school students who participated in "Suuri-no-Tsubasa Salon," an online seminar hosted by the NPO Suuri-no-Tsubasa. This organization’s purpose is to create opportunities for junior and senior high school students to learn cutting-edge science and broaden their perspective on the natural sciences. There were 450 participants in this seminar, and they were able to choose which seminar to take from 24 seminars, one of which was this seminar on synthetic biology and iGEM. Since there were so many students with a strong interest in cutting-edge natural science, we decided to hold this educational event here in the hope that these people will become interested in synthetic biology and will be the ones to develop it in the future.

Purpose

We had the following five objectives.

• To make the students aware of the existence and gain interest in synthetic biology and iGEM.
• To improve the somewhat rooted image of genetic modification as dangerous, by providing students with in-depth knowledge of genetic modification technology.
• To let the students know the significance of applying advanced technologies to society because these topics are rarely covered in high schools.
• To make the students aware of ethical issues in life science, especially synthetic biology, to have them form their own opinions, and to share these opinions with others.
• To have them learn the project examples of iGEM and have a concrete image of iGEM.

Contents

We started with a lecture on synthetic biology and iGEM, and then had time for discussion and a Q&A session. About forty students attended our lecture. Not only did we introduce the topics of synthetic biology and iGEM, but also showed the projects conducted by the iGEM team in the past, so that the audience could get a sense of what synthetic biology can do and how interesting it can be. After the lecture, we took time for discussion and Q&A for mutual interaction. Our lecture provided a good opportunity for the participants to recognize issues in synthetic biology and to share their own opinions on topics such as "Technology is advancing and more and more things can be done in the laboratory, but what do you think about this from an ethical point of view?"

Feedback

Overall, the seminar was very favorable. We received the following responses.

• Many participants said "Synthetic biology sounds interesting!" and "iGEM is amazing!" Furthermore, their impressions spread on SNS, so even people who did not participate in this event were able to learn about "Synthetic biology" and "iGEM."
• By making people aware of the technologies used in the field of synthetic biology and biosafety, some of the negative images they had were alleviated.
• In learning about the actual activities of iGEM and exchanging ideas with other participants and iGEM members, some participants shared the significance of implementing technology in society and improving projects with input from various people in society.
• We received positive feedback that said "I was only interested in fundamental science, but I learned that ethical considerations are also very important for the development of synthetic biology, and this seminar was a good opportunity for me to think about such issues on my own for the first time."
• By learning about the project, the image of synthetic biology and iGEM seemed to have become more concrete, and some of them said, "I want to participate in iGEM at university!" What is more, one participant joined iGEM Ninjas which is a high school team for iGEM.

Impact

We were able to convey the excitement of synthetic biology and iGEM to the participants. In addition, their understanding of related technologies and biosafety was deepened, and their negative image of genetic modification was mitigated. After this online event, one student also participated in the "Summer Synbio Course", a developmental course held by iGEM Utokyo and iGEM Waseda-Tokyo. He became interested in synthetic biology as a result of these educational activities and joined Ninjas, a team of high school students who plan to compete in iGEM next year. We have kept in touch with him since these educational activities. We promised to work together on educational activities, such as lectures at science museums, as a way to expand the circle of synthetic biology and iGEM.

Target

We taught elementary and junior high school students who are interested in biology about the fun, possibilities, and ethical code of synthetic biology.

Purpose

Currently, it is common in Japanese high schools for students to choose two of four science subjects (physics, chemistry, biology, and geology) to study if they wish to pursue a science course. While more than 70% of students choose the pair of physics and chemistry, less than 30% choose biology. This data indicates that biology is unpopular [1]. One reason for this may be that molecular biology, which becomes a central subject after entering high school, is not familiar to students and is strongly perceived as a subject to be memorized.

By allowing students interested in biology to experience the fun of synthetic biology from an early age, we hoped to spread the idea that biology is not just about memorization, and that they can design their own organisms from an engineering perspective. We believed that by conducting an educational activity for elementary and junior high school students, we could broaden the range of people who are interested in synthetic biology.

The ethical code that is unavoidable in the study of synthetic biology is an important issue in science generally, not just in biology. This is an issue that must always be considered by those who study science and live in today's scientifically and technologically advanced society. We thought that learning about research ethics through synthetic biology would also provide an opportunity for elementary and junior high school students who participated in the lecture to think about technology in society.

Educational Materials

A worksheet was created to explain DNA expression. With this, the participants could enjoy transcribing and translating DNA sequences with their own hands. We wanted to convey the fun of biology that goes beyond memorization, so we made it possible for students to understand the mechanisms of biology by working with their own hands. We added detailed explanations so that even elementary school students could understand. This worksheet can be used as an educational material in schools as well.

This lecture was also distributed on YouTube, where it has been archived. It has been viewed more than 500 times, which suggests that this lecture itself has been widely used as educational material. This video is intended to convey the appeal of synthetic biology to those who know little or nothing about it.

Contents

The lecture consisted of three parts: an experiment on DNA extraction using chicken liver, hands-on experience with gene expression using worksheets, and an introduction to synthetic biology and its code of ethics. The focus was on the experiments and worksheets because we wanted the participants to actually see and feel the biological phenomena by seeing and working with their hands, rather than simply teaching the facts. By looking at the extracted DNA, the students understood what DNA is, and by using the worksheets, they learned how transcription and translation occur from DNA to realize cellular functions. They also looked into the world of synthetic biology, which involves modifying this process, and to some of the ethical norms that accompany it. The flow of the lecture

• What is synthetic biology?
• What is DNA?
• What does DNA look like? - DNA extraction experiment using chicken liver
• What is central dogma?
• How do transcription and translation go on? - Hands-on experience using a worksheet
• How is gene expression regulated?
• Reconsider: what is synthetic biology?
• What is research ethics?

Feedback

At the beginning of the lecture, all eight participants had never heard of synthetic biology, but in a post-lecture questionnaire, all responded that the lecture was interesting. In particular, many of them answered that they enjoyed seeing actual DNA in the DNA extraction experiment. This answer indicates that they were able to actually see and feel DNA, which before they had only recognized as jargon in textbooks. They also actively engaged with the worksheets. Although the lecture was given at a somewhat high level, they could understand and enjoy the content.

Impact

The experience of learning about biology and synthetic biology in an enjoyable way for elementary and junior high school students who had never heard of synthetic biology will be the starting point for further interest in synthetic biology in the future. Some of the participants had heard about this lecture from their family members, which means that not only children but also their parents were interested in this lecture. This educational activity was also streamed on YouTube, so parents and children can watch the streaming together. We strongly believe that this lecture increased the knowledge and interest of both children and their parents in synthetic biology while the children enjoyed learning about synthetic biology and its related fields.

Target

The target of this education was a total of 33 sophomores at Komagome High School who major in Biology.

Purpose

The purpose of this program is to introduce synthetic biology to students and tell them how interesting it is. Unfortunately, in Japanese high school education, biology is often perceived as a rote subject and as a hard-to-imagine or uninteresting subject. As a result, many high school students tend to avoid biology classes (for this point, see the purpose section of "The lecture at Hachilab" section). Therefore, we held this session for high school sophomores who have just started to study biology, in order to get them interested in synthetic biology, and have them recognize the value of biology as a field of natural science.

Another purpose we had was to explore use cases of Genochemy in education. Since this was the first opportunity to have people out of iGEM UTokyo use Genochemy, we wanted to know whether Genochemy was a good tool to spread synthetic biology.

Educational Materials

To achieve the above goal, we used Genochemy (v0.1), a software developed by iGEM UTokyo. Using Genochemy, everyone can experience synthetic biology on a computer by easily arranging genes as one like and expressing them on the screen. Genochemy lets users easily and intuitively make gene circuits, and also visually shows users how the resulting organism behaves with graphs and colors, making the software easy for everyone to use.

By using Genochemy, students at Komagome High School were able to understand gene expression visually, and by experiencing the ability to program organisms as they like, they were able to understand that biology is not just a rote learning subject, but that many creative things can be done within it.

Contents

We held a session at Komagome High School on June 22. Six iGEM UTokyo members participated in this session.

In the session, we held a simple lecture on the flow of gene expression, and after that, we asked each student to work on their own, following the worksheet we prepared describing the detailed steps of Genochemy. The students answered several questions on the worksheet using Genochemy and designed their own gene circuits in consultation with iGEM UTokyo members. The session was held in a way such that when students had a problem or they had a question, they could discuss it with other students nearby and also consult with iGEM UTokyo members.

Feedback

After the session at Komagome High School, we conducted a survey of the students and received 23 responses. The survey asked about their knowledge of synthetic biology before the session, their interest in synthetic biology after the session, and their impressions of the session. Few students knew about synthetic biology before our session, with 82.6% saying they had never heard of it, but many students responded that they became interested in synthetic biology after the session.

Impact

This session has created a lot of interaction between Komagome High School students and iGEM UTokyo members, and both the high school students and us have learned a lot. First of all, we received a variety of opinions from the survey we conducted for Komagome High School students, in addition to the results mentioned above. Some of the comments included "It was interesting to see how transcription works and how repressors and activators work based on our existing knowledge" and "Personally, I thought biology was rote memorization and not very interesting, but I really enjoyed the time I spent thinking with my friends in this session. Thank you." We were successful in letting the students realize how biology works and how interesting it is, and in encouraging mutual learning among the students. For us iGEM UTokyo, helping the students with their questions has given us a chance to rethink how we should communicate the mechanics of synthetic biology to the general public. We were also able to confirm that Genochemy is an effective educational tool for students who do not have such a specialized background in biology. Learning this in this session, we discussed how we could utilize Genochemy in other educational scenes and put it into action in the education sessions thereafter.

Target

iGEM UTokyo raises funds through the "UTokyo Foundation," an organization that UTokyo officially has for donations. The target audience was the 100 or so people who donated large sums of money through the UTokyo Foundation, several professors, and the President of the University of Tokyo (the right side of the photo).

Purposes

The purpose of the event was not only to express our gratitude to our supporters but also to inform people who were not familiar with synthetic biology about iGEM's efforts, to visualize the use of the money received, and to encourage them to consider further support for iGEM UTokyo.

Contents

Our team presented a report on our activities at a meeting hosted by the UTokyo Foundation on July 25.

We gave a five-minute speech on the stage, showing a brief slide presentation. First, we gave a brief explanation of this year's project, Optopass. Then, we talked about how we conduct experiments in the laboratory in a safe manner and how we are involved in a wide range of activities, not only experiments but also education and human practices. We also explained that iGEM and synthetic biology are not well known in Japan and that we hope iGEM UTokyo will lead the way in synthetic biology in Japan. We emphasized that iGEM provides international communication, creative research opportunities for undergraduates, and a high level of peer interaction, which means that the iGEM competitors are also gaining valuable experience.

Feedback

Many professors expressed interest in and high expectations for synthetic biology.

Impact

The fact that we informed experts in other fields who are active in the world of iGEM is significant for iGEM, which conducts a wide range of activities. It is important to create guidelines for the appropriate use of synthetic biology, and in doing so, it is necessary to discuss not only with synthetic biology researchers but also with experts of policy, ethics, law, and risk assessment. This event is also significant in that it introduced synthetic biology to experts in various fields and created the groundwork for discussion. We made iGEM UTokyo's efforts known to supporters of the UTokyo Foundation who had not previously been exposed to synthetic biology. Many of them are influential in the investment world, and this will provide an opportunity to increase their support for synthetic biology.

Target

The participants in this course were mainly expected to be high school and university students. The course did not require prior knowledge of biology, so as to target a wide range of students. We promoted this lecture on Twitter and we assume that people who were interested in the keywords "synthetic biology" and "iGEM" attended this course.

Purpose

The overall goal of the course was to have the participants obtain a deeper understanding of synthetic biology.

Based on the fact that, through previous educational experience, many participants had an interest in synthetic biology but felt hurdles due to a lack of basic knowledge about biology, such as not having completed the high school biology curriculum, so we planned to include the basics of biology in this course. We tried to provide a step-by-step explanation of what synthetic biology is and specific examples of its use, as well as to give the students an overall picture of the field of synthetic biology. In addition to introducing the content of the iGEM project, the lecture also introduced how the project is carried out and how it solves problems, so that the participants could familiarize themselves with iGEM. The lecture also provided participants with hands-on work, so that they could have a deeper understanding compared to just hearing about it.

Educational Materials

The course had the following contents: the basics of biology, what synthetic biology is, and examples of iGEM projects. We used the slides below.

The course used Genochemy (v0.2), a tool we developed to have the participants experience synthetic biology as if it were a game. The link to this tool was distributed to the participants so that they could play it after the lecture as well as review the information they learned.

The workshop was designed to encourage participants to discuss and think about how synthetic biology can be used to achieve each of the SDGs.

Contents

The lecture was co-hosted by the UTokyo and Waseda_Tokyo teams as a three-hour project on Zoom, inviting participants via Twitter and Instagram. Main flow:

• Basics of biology necessary for understanding synthetic biology (DNA structure, transcription, translation, central dogma, model organisms, etc. were explained).
• What is synthetic biology? (Origins, concepts, scientific and engineering perspectives, etc. were explained.)
• Let's experience synthetic biology through Genochemy! (Work: After explaining the use and functions of Genochemy, questions were posed and participants were asked to solve them.)
• Practical examples of synthetic biology from iGEM team activities (this year's projects at UTokyo and Waseda-Tokyo, and four related projects from the past were introduced. We also explained the basic way of proceeding with iGEM projects.)
• Synthetic biology as a solution to social issues related to the SDGs (Work: Participants were divided into small groups and asked to devise and present a solution to an issue related to the SDGs using a worksheet together with an iGEM team member facilitator).

Feedback

Nine people attended the course that day. Feedback questionnaires were obtained from five of them.

Participants also commented that the hands-on workshop part was effective in helping them experience synthetic biology, and that hearing the introduction of the iGEM project, including how the project is being carried out, gave them a better understanding of how to solve problems through synthetic biology.

As a result of group work to consider solutions to SDG challenges from the perspective of synthetic biology, the following ideas were raised by participants.

Group1

• Simpler and more efficient photosynthetic bacteria.
• Bacteria that absorb and detoxify harmful substances.
• Bacteria that make usable oil from materials not normally used by humans.

Target: 13 Climate action, 14 Life below water, 15 Life on land

Group2

• Micro-organisms that break down foodstuffs that would normally be discarded such as seeds , into edible forms or energy.
• This is effective in eliminating food loss.

Target: 2 Zero hunger, 3 Good health and well-being, 7 Affordable and clean energy

Impact

The questionnaire results showed that all participants were satisfied with the lecture and felt that their understanding of synthetic biology had been deepened. From this, we believe that the objective of the course, which was to give the participants an overall understanding of synthetic biology, has been achieved. When asked in the post-lecture questionnaire whether they were for or against synthetic biology research in light of the risks, as shown in the diagram below, the majority of the participants were positive about promoting research. We believe that this is a result of our lectures which conveyed the potential for future development in this field, in addition to providing an understanding of the mechanisms of synthetic biology.

A questionnaire was completed after the group work on the SDGs from the perspective of synthetic biology, which yielded the results shown in the figure below. This section succeeded in deepening the participants' understanding of the SDGs as well as synthetic biology.

The introduction of the iGEM project also allowed us to convey the concept of problem-solving in synthetic biology.

We succeeded in conveying that this year's iGEM UTokyo project, which was given as a concrete example of synthetic biology during the lecture, responds to the specific needs of the present and future, and has a significant impact on society.

Target

We held an online workshop using Genochemy in an event called "Transintellisession conference" held by an organization called "i factorial." "i factorial" is a student organization that supports the exploration activities of high school and university students under the concept of "academia for amateurs." Students from various fields and interests joined the event. In particular, our workshop targeted students interested in computer science, not just biology. This is because synthetic biology originally progressed along with information science. In addition, iGEM was launched partially by professors whose major is computer science, for example Dr. Tom Knight. By attracting more students from computer science into this field, the foundation of synthetic biology may advance. Also, in Japan students interested in computer science often do not take advanced biology classes in high school and many of them have a preconceived notion that biology is a difficult, memorization-heavy subject (for this point, see the purpose section of "The lecture at Hachilab" section). Thus it was important to make them feel more familiar with synthetic biology.

Purpose

The purpose of this workshop was to help students who are interested in information science, as well as biology, feel more familiar with synthetic biology. Also, we wanted to hear how they felt about programming microorganisms compared to programming normal computers, in order to understand how students interested in computer science think of synthetic biology. Moreover, we wanted to get feedback on Genochemy and our way of education to improve them.

Educational Materials

We used Genochemy (v0.3) to have participants experience synthetic biology programming. Also, we used slides to explain the basics of synthetic biology.

To make the lecture interactive, we used CommentScreen, an app which enables the participants to comment and the speaker to see them flow in the screen from right to left. The participants could comment via twitter, so even those not joining the event could learn what the participants thought.

Contents

About 10 participants joined our lecture.

First we described the basics of synthetic biology, the aspects of DNA as programming language and the basics of Genochemy. Then, we showed how we use Genochemy and what we can construct to the participants by pair-programming with one of the students who was not familiar with biology but interested in computer science. Other participants accessed Genochemy via the browser and imitated what we did.

Feedback

The student who pair-programmed with us said that Genochemy was quite interesting. He found Genochemy is like a programming language which is executed on a living system. He said that the expression of GFP is like the printf function in the C programming language, and using this "debug" feature (used for logging the state), he constructed a competitive quiz game in Genochemy. Furthermore, we interviewed some participants after the lecture, via twitter DM. They said they felt no resistance to programming living organisms. For instance, one participant answered "it is natural for me that organisms are programmable."

On the other hand, some pointed out that there is little sense of reality. Many of them said it was difficult to imagine how the program constructed in Genochemy is executed in real life. Therefore, we described that blocks in Genochemy are convertible to DNA sequences, and that real DNA sequences can be ordered from companies like IDT or eurofins, and after it arrives, we can insert the DNA into real organisms by "transformation". Hearing our explanation, they grasped the whole process.

Impact

It was surprising that few people were uncomfortable with the idea of programming living organisms. That is because, genetically modified organisms are sometimes seen as unwelcome. We thought that Genochemy, which enables programming of living organisms by dragging-and-dropping blocks, might be able to lower the hurdle towards genetic modification. When it was pointed out that it is hard to imagine how the program in Genochemy worked in the real world, we realized that Genochemy lacked the feature which enables users to convert Genochemy blocks to virtual DNA sequences and learn how the sequences are ordered and used. In order for users to imagine the real process in synthetic biology, we implemented new functions in Genochemy v0.7.

For more details on our education using Genochemy, see Details of Education page.

Target

Japan Biology Olympiad (JBO) is a contest in which junior and senior high school students from all over Japan compete in solving biology problems. The top 2% of the students who made it through the preliminary rounds went to the finals.

For these very talented biology students, an online event was held with several iGEM teams to introduce them to iGEM. There were 26 participants, including the Japanese representatives of the International Biology Olympiad.

Purpose

The purpose of this event was to introduce iGEM to outstanding biology students so that they can learn about iGEM and become future leaders of synthetic biology and to introduce specific projects of Japanese iGEM teams to them so that they can realize that the biology they are learning can actually be what we can use to solve social problems.

Educational Materials

We shared the information using slides.

Contents

After explaining what iGEM is, the participating iGEM teams (iGEM UTokyo, iGEM Tokyo Tech, iGEM Qdai, iGEM Tsukuba) explained their projects in turn.

Since the students had a basic knowledge of biology, we explained the project's deeper technical aspects so they could experience the advanced applications of the technology. UTokyo team introduced some specific gene circuits and the function of photoreceptors and recombinases.

We then broke into breakout rooms where participants could ask questions and interact with each other on a project-by-project basis.

Feedback

Some students expressed a desire to use synthetic biology to solve social problems such as oil spills into the ocean, desertification, and microplastics. It was found that even students with a background in biology did not know a lot about iGEM or synthetic biology. Another 35% of the students had heard of it but did not know what it meant. However, after the lecture, more than 95% of the participants said they found the event interesting, and 60% of the students said they would like to participate in iGEM in the future.

Impact

Because of the excellent group of students, there were many sharp questions. For example, there was a question about iGEM Qdai's methane production project and its relevance to the greenhouse effect of methane. Through our interactions with the students, there were some learning moments for us as well.

Out of the students who participated, 71.4% had either never heard of synthetic biology or had heard of it but did not know what it was about. Given this level of recognition, even among students with a background in biology, it is necessary to first let people know the existence of synthetic biology in order to promote its spread in society. We were pleased that many students wanted to join iGEM after the event. Some students even asked how they could join an iGEM team, which suggests that iGEM was attractive to them. This event was significant in that it provided an opportunity for young students, who are expected to lead the biology field in Japan, to learn about synthetic biology.

Target

21 junior and senior high school students attending Eiko Gakuen

Purpose

Eiko Gakuen is one of the most prestigious junior and senior high schools in Japan, and many of its graduates go on to become scientists and policy makers. However, less than 10% of the students take the "advanced biology" class. As students who will have a great impact on science and society, it is very important to have knowledge of biology, especially synthetic biology. Therefore, we decided to give lectures on synthetic biology to these students. In addition, since Eiko Gakuen has a high percentage of students who enter the University of Tokyo, another goal we had was to increase the number of potential iGEM participants by getting them interested in synthetic biology.

Educational Materials

Genochemy (ver 0.6) was used.

Since the target audience was mainly junior and high school students who were not familiar with biology, Genochemy was the best choice for them because Genochemy could be enjoyed even if they did not have any knowledge of biology, and they could learn how a gene circuit works as they played with it.

Contents

First, we briefly explained what synthetic biology is, what kind of competition iGEM is, and what projects iGEM UTokyo is involved in. After that, Genochemy was introduced and the participants were divided into groups to play with it freely.

Feedback

80%of the students had never heard of synthetic biology before the lecture, but in a post-lecture survey, all of them said they had become interested in synthetic biology. In addition, more than 90% of the students answered that Genochemy was interesting. However, many students said that they enjoyed Genochemy as an ordinary game and did not feel as if they were simulating organisms. Many of them also said that the Genochemy tutorial was difficult to understand. From this we concluded that further improvement of Genochemy is needed.

Impact

We were able to generate interest in synthetic biology among junior and senior high school students who were not familiar with biology. During the first half, which was the project introduction, many essential and high-level questions were raised, such as "What can we use a password on yeast for?", "What happens if we shine white light on it?", "What happens if it is sequenced before shining light on it?", "What happens if someone intentionally induces mutations to destroy the system?" This means that the lecture provided an opportunity to think about synthetic biology. When we introduced Genochemy, everyone was enthusiastic about it without any explanation from us, indicating a very strong interest in the subject. In this way, this lecture was a success in that we were able to promote synthetic biology to promising junior and senior high school students.

Previously, we gave a lecture using Genochemy at Komagome High School, but at that time, we prepared worksheets and had the students work through them in order following our explanations. In this lecture, we were able to let the students do what they wanted without any particular explanation because we improved Genochemy and added quizzes so that the users would not need explanations. As a result, students at Eiko Gakuen were more passionate about Genochemy, leading to spontaneous learning.

In addition, by having junior and high school students actually play with it, we were able to obtain critical feedback, such as it being difficult for them to have a clear image of real organisms and the tutorial being hard to understand. This feedback led us to improvements that would enable Genochemy to reach a wider audience.

Target

18 senior and junior high school students in the biology club at Tsukukoma.

Purpose

Junior and Senior High School at Komaba, University of Tsukuba (Tsukukoma) is one of the most prestigious junior and senior high schools in Japan, and many of its graduates go on to become future scientists and policy makers. As well as Eiko Gakuen, as students who will have an influence on science and society in the future, having knowledge of synthetic biology is very important for the future development of it. Therefore, we decided to give lectures on synthetic biology to students belonging to the biology club at Tsukukoma who have an interest in biology. In addition, since Tsukukoma has a high percentage of students who enter the University of Tokyo, another goal we had was to increase the number of potential iGEM participants by getting them interested in synthetic biology.

Educational Materials

Genochemy (v0.7) was used.

Some slides from the Summer Synbio Course were also used to explain synthetic biology.

Many of the junior high school students had little knowledge of synthetic biology. We thought that Genochemy was suitable because it was fun even if they had no knowledge of synthetic biology, and they could learn how gene circuits work as they played with it.

Contents

First, a brief explanation was given on synthetic biology and iGEM. After that, Genochemy was introduced and the participants were free to play with it on their own while the usage and biological background was explained. Finally, Genochemy was used to explain this year's iGEM UTokyo project.

Feedback

Questionnaire forms were sent to eighteen participants after the lecture and responses were received from twelve. More than 70% of the students had not heard of synthetic biology before the lecture, but in the post-lecture questionnaire, more than 90% of the students said they now had a clearer idea of synthetic biology, and all said they were more interested in synthetic biology.

All the students also stated that Genochemy was interesting. However, some pointed out improvements, such as that it was difficult to understand the functions at the beginning and that some of the UI was difficult to understand.

Impact

The lecture was able to stimulate interest in synthetic biology among junior and senior high school students who had an interest in biology but have little knowledge about it. After the tutorial, the students worked hard on Genochemy, discussing it amongst themselves, and seemed to feel a strong interest in the subject. They were also surprised and interested in the iGEM UTokyo project which makes it possible for organisms to recognize the order of light. The lecture was a success in that we were able to promote synthetic biology to promising junior and senior high school students. By having junior and senior high school students, the main target group of Genochemy, actually play with it, we were able to obtain feedback that the functions of the various parts, such as promoters and activators, were difficult to understand at first glance and that an explanation of biological terminology would be helpful.