Introduction
Educating students about synthetic biology is crucial because it fosters early interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, empowering the next generation to address global challenges. By learning about synthetic biology, students can develop problem-solving skills and understand how biology can be engineered to solve real-world issues, such as climate change, healthcare, and food security. Early exposure also helps demystify the field, encouraging curiosity and innovation while preparing them to become responsible scientists and informed citizens.
As well as benefits highlighted above, we were motivated to work on developing outreach events as we recognised that this is a great opportunity to develop communication skills necessary within a science or engineering career. Thinking of new ways to actively engage students was also a fun and rewarding task.
Since we had limited time, we decided to focus on running events for the 15-17 age group. We felt that this was the most suitable age group to introduce synthetic biology to to make an effective difference, since they have enough knowledge to be able to understand the basic technical principles. With more time dedicated to outreach, we would have also loved to design and execute some activities for younger children as well as adults.
When producing high quality presentations and activities, tailored to each individual event that we were contributing towards, we were conscious in trying not to unnecessarily re-do work that previous iGEM teams had already done. Before creating our own materials, we looked through the previous team’s wikis to find any materials that we could build upon or reuse. However, this process could be tedious and ineffective, due to the vast amount of wiki’s containing educational material of vastly differing levels of documentation and detail.
This is why we created “iGEM Outreach Bank”. This is a list of high quality outreach activities and resources that previous teams have created, which can be sorted based on variables such as age group and documentation level. The aim of this is to enable future iGEM teams to quickly search for resources to be adapted and reused, to make preparing for quality outreach events more time effective.
iGEM Outreach Bank
Access the iGEM Outreach Bank on our outreach page. Filter the table to find inspiration and resources for your next outreach event.
Events
Magdalene College Residential, April 2024
The Cambridge University Department of Genetics hosted fifteen Year 12 students (age 16-17) from Merseyside and the Isle of Man as part of the annual Magdalene College Residential. The Cambridge iGEM team was approached to contribute to this residential, in the form of an interactive activity to give a taster of content studied in biological sciences courses at university.
We split the 1 hour session into two, and started off with a short presentation on the basics of synthetic biology, and some of its common and interesting applications. We then ran a group brainstorming session, where both groups came up with some really interesting potential new applications of synthetic biology. One example was creating vegetables that taste better through the downregulation of pathways that produce bitter molecules. Another suggestion was producing energy in a renewable way such as engineered algae.
Reflections
We were pleased by how engaged and creative the students were in the brainstorming session. They came up with some creative ideas, which challenged our own way of thinking. The students also used the opportunity to ask questions about life at university, and university applications. However, the students seemed to get stuck towards the end of the brainstorming session, as new ideas stopped flowing. For our next brainstorming session, during the Girls in Maths Residential, we split the SDGs up into small sections, so the activity ran at a faster pace.
Resources
PowerPoint (pdf) of the presentation given at this event. Suitable for ages 16-18, with or without biology A-level.
Introduction to Synthetic Biology (pdf)
Same presentation as above on Goolgle slides (editable):
Introduction to Synthetic Biology (Google slides)
Biomedical Engineering Summer Course: Project, July 2024
In July 2024, the iGEM team worked with academics from the University of Southampton to provide a “Design and Make” project for 12 incoming year 12 students (15-16) at a Smallpeice Trust Biomedical engineering summer course. The students were split into groups of 3 or 4 and given around 7 hours over 4 days to design their own bio-sensor, and create an educational video explaining the PCR reaction using sweets. The Design and Make activity introduced them to the principles of genetic engineering and using Benchling software. With knowledge from an introductory presentation and some guidance from us, they were able to produce plasmids of their own within Benchling. After completing the projects, all teams gave a presentation confirming that they understood what they had done in Benchling, the implications of their work, and their design choices. Of the 9 teams working on 3 different projects, the winner was one of our groups who were commended on their explanation and understanding of the material, as well as the quality of their PCR demonstration video and diagrams.
Reflections
If we were to repeat this activity again, we would ask the students to think of their own scenarios in which biosensors could be useful, instead of pre-preparing scenarios for them. This would give them more creative licence, and probably induce more ownership over their mini-project.
The final activity to design an educational video explaining PCR using strawberry laces and haribos required much less focus and concentration than the previous day’s tasks. It was a great way to end the sessions, and we loved watching the finished videos at the end.
The projects went well and the University of Southampton has invited next year’s Cambridge iGEM team back to run the same set of sessions.
More detailed reflections are included below in the resources section. Please use these if you are thinking of running this activity.
Resources
PowerPoint of the "Design and Make" project we provided for this event. The project takes 6-8 hours, and is suitable for ages 16-18, with or without biology A-level.
Biosensor Design Project: Presentation (pdf)
Same presentation as above on Google slides (editable)
Biosensor Design Project: Presentation (Google slides)
Document with the Benchling instructions for the plasmid design project.
Benchling instructions
Document with instructions on how to conduct the project, as well as things we would change next time, and photos from the project.
Biosensor Design Project: Handover Notes
Specifications we gave to the students, of what their biosensor should do. Also includes an annotated diagram of a plasmid, which students can use for reference.
Biosensor Design Project: Specifications
Biomedical Engineering Summer Course: Masterclass, August 2024
In addition to the Design and Make project, the team provided a masterclass for the Smallpeice Trust biomedical engineering summer course. This introduced all students on the week (27 in total) to the concept of synthetic biology, some real world applications, and commonly used model organisms for biological applications. As part of the masterclass, students were tasked with identifying three different types of fly variants (in tubes).
Reflections
The interactive parts of the masterclass, especially fly identification, seemed to be well received.
From observing the students, and numbers of hands up, it seemed that the students were not understanding all aspects of the content of the presentation as well as we would have liked. We suspect this may be because the presentation was not coherent enough. We took this feedback forward, and paid special attention to make sure the presentation for the Girls in Maths residential followed a clear and logical train of thought.
Resources
PowerPoint of the "Masterclass" we provided for this event. The presentation, with activities, lasts approximately 45 minutes, and is suitable for ages 16-18, with or without biology A-level (or equivalent qualification).
Synthetic Biology Masterclass: Presentation (pdf)
Same presentation as above on Google slides (editable)
Synthetic Biology Masterclass: Presentation (Google slides)
Document with comments on how the Masterclass could be improved next time.
Synethic Biology Masterclass: Handover Notes
Document useful for the fly identification activity. The document outlines how to identify different varients of fly.
Synthetic Biology Masterclass: Fly Resource
Girls in Maths Residential, August 2024
Girls in Maths is an annual 5 day residential held at St John’s college Cambridge, for aspiring female mathematicians. The team reached out to the St John’s College outreach lead to provide a presentation and activity introducing the students to the applications of maths within biology. We organised both a brainstorming activity, as well as modelling the central dogma using ordinary differential equations, of which many students were successful in writing on their own.
Reflections
Learning from the masterclass given at the Smallpeice trust residential, we aimed to make this presentation more coherent. We knew that most of the students would not already hold an interest in biological sciences, so made sure to keep returning to mathematical ideas. Surprisingly to us, the students were especially engaged during the UN sustainable development goal centred brainstorming activity. It was energising to see the range of different, new and creative ideas, some of which were inspired by their own lived experience. Some of our favourites were: fluorescent trees instead of lamp posts [climate action], cells with larger organelles so you can see them under the microscope [education], contact lenses for eye medication administration [health care].
The students had studied more advanced mathematical knowledge than anticipated, so I think we could made the problem more challenging. However, we introduced a large amount of biology very quickly, so perhaps it was beneficial that the maths was kept relatively simple.
Resources
Powerpoint of the presentation given and activity provided. The presention is suitable for students aged 17-19, who are taking further maths A-level or who have completed their maths A-level (or equivalent qualification).
Maths and Modelling in Synthetic Biology (pdf)
Same presentaion as above on Google slides (editable)
Maths and Modelling in Synthetic Biology (Google slides)