The Education subteam planned workshops to educate the greater community about topics tied into our overall project, which is to create a synthetic chocolate flavoring as an alternative to traditional means of chocolate production, which are harmful towards the environment and laborers. Our seminars and workshops covered: the problem that sparked our project (climate change), the ways in which we wanted to address the issue (methods of food science and creating more sustainable food options), chocolate production, and the specific techniques our team utilized to make our compounds (bacterial transformation to introduce new genes).
Climate change is relevant to our project due to the fact that the change in weather patterns affect cacao trees and stunts their growth. We used this to provide an activity for kids to educate them about the harmful impact of climate change. The food science and flavoring class parallels our iGEM project because it explains the impact of artificial flavoring, which is essentially what we're creating with our synthetic chocolate. The tempering chocolate course explains how the crystals in chocolate respond to different temperatures resulting in states from solid to melted chocolate. The bacterial transformation class ties our project together. It could be defined as the building block of our entire project since it reflects our solution, the engineering of bacteria.
We held seminars and hands-on sessions for both children and adults in the Baltimore area to educate them about different aspects of our project, including cocoa harvesting and chocolate production, impacts of climate change on food systems,sustainable food production, and genetic engineering.
We wanted to ensure that we were educating the greater community in an equitable way, by creating educational experiences for all ages, not just one subset of the population. We aimed to hold one speaker session for older teens and adults and one kids lesson and activity for each of the four topics we wanted to cover.
Our Development Strategy
Our kids' class activities vary in complexity and difficulty, so we decided to establish appropriate age groups for each.
- Food Science - This activity was fairly simple, requiring participants to follow instructors’ directions to make two simple mixtures and use a syringe to pipe small droplets, so the activity was open to 7 to 12 year olds.
- Chocolate Tempering - This activity includes using a hot plate with boiling water and metal bowls, as well as precise measuring, so we decided to set the age to 10 to 14 years olds.
- Climate Change - This activity did not include a complicated procedure, only requiring participants to use a measuring cup and manipulate dirt and water, so this age group was set for 7 to 12 year olds.
- Synthetic Biology + Bacterial Transformation - This activity dealt with a more complex topic involving plasmids, delicate competent cells, and agar plates so the activity was offered for older kids aged 10 to 14.
Our Classes and Seminars
Below is information on each of our paired kids’ classes and adult seminars. We've shared all of our slideshows from each class so that they can be utilized by others for future classes or presentations. We encourage other teachers, scientists, clubs and organizations to build upon the information we've already compiled and apply them to their own projects and events.
Chocolate Science and Production
Adult Seminar: Chocolate Production - Seminar 8/31
The chocolate tree has been used by humans as a source of nutrition and delicious chocolate for at least 6000 years, yet cacao farmers suffer from very low incomes and other social and ecological problems such as the threat of climate change. Cacao farming can provide a good income if it is grown right, and can provide numerous benefits to the economy and the ecosystems where it is grown. Dr. Mark Guiltinan of Penn State University’s Department of Plant Science held a presentation on how cacao science and genomics are trying to address the need for better cacao plants to help farmers thrive and support the future of chocolate. 20 people were in attendance for this seminar.
Kids Class: The Science Behind Tempering Chocolate - Kids Class 9/14 [Slideshow]
The Education team led a workshop for kids in grades 7-12 to learn the science behind tempering chocolate and what makes tempered chocolate different from non-tempered chocolate. The kids tempered their own chocolate and compared it to plain, solid chocolate to visually see the differences. They also were given a presentation on the science behind tempering chocolate and how the cocoa butter fat crystals are manipulated during the tempering process to get the ideal shine and snap. 13 students attended this class.
Food Science
Topic: Sustainable Food Production - Seminar 9/28 [Slideshow]
Dr. Vivian Su, co-president of the Johns Hopkins Alternative Protein Project, gave a presentation about alternative proteins, methods in which they are produced, and their importance for our food systems. Our Sustainable Development + Implementation Team focused on how synthetic chocolate could transform production and consumption practices in areas with high demand for chocolate. This would make production more sustainable and environmentally conscious, and reduce deforestation and harmful planting practices, especially in West Africa. By exploring synthetic biology as an alternative for chocolate production, as well as for other foods like alternative proteins, people can make production and consumption more sustainable, as it no longer relies on environmentally unfriendly practices, those that can lead to public health crises, or animal cruelty. 13 people attended this seminar.
Topic: Food Science and Texture Agents - Kids Class 9/7 [Slideshow]
We held a seminar for elementary school aged kids to learn about what food science is, and how it is applicable in everyday life and the foods we consume. With members of Johns Hopkins Alternative Protein Project, we led an activity on spherification to teach the kids about alginate and other thickening agents. Although there are often misconceptions surrounding GMOs and synthetic ingredients in foods, it is important to understand different types of synthetic products in our food and their importance. 13 kids attended this session and participated in the activity.
Climate Change and Food Supply
Topic: The Future of Climate Change and Food Supply - Seminar 9/11
When there were only 280 million people on Earth, humans went about their daily lives unable to see the macro effects of their decision-making on our planet. Now, with modern technological advances, people can easily see those effects, and the race is on to create sustainable farming habits, to halt the effects of humanity's impact. Ben Friton of the Reed Center delivered a compassionate guide to help participants understand the collateral effects of the decisions we’ve made and provided simple and practical solutions on how we can move toward a brighter future. 13 people attended this seminar.
Topic: Climate Change and Food Supply - Kids Activity Session 9/21
In this kids activity, we provided an informative presentation and interactive opportunities for students to learn about the rising issue of climate change and how it’s negatively impacting food supply and production. The kids were taught the definition and effects of climate change, as well as given a carbon footprint calculator to understand different types of human activities that impact the ongoing phenomenon of global warming. After explaining and correlating the effects of climate change on plant growth and agricultural productivity, we provided the kids with a hands on activity in which they planted Fast PlantsⓇ. Potting two each, they altered one plant to receive less water in order to simulate change in precipitation, a possible, realistic effect of climate change. We then asked them to observe differences between plants that we had previously planted four weeks prior, with two having received constant water and two having received water on an inconsistent basis. 3 kids attended this session and participated in the activity.
Methods of Genetic Engineering
Topic: Bacterial Transformation - Kids Activity Session 9/28 and 10/5 [Slideshow]
Our iGEM team hosted a fun and interactive class where students could dive into the world of bacterial transformation. We explored how scientists can "reprogram" bacteria by giving them new DNA instructions, allowing the bacteria to do amazing things, like producing synthetic chocolate ingredients! In this class, students transformed a plasmid containing red fluorescent protein into competent bacteria, and surprisingly, they were able to get a lot of pink colonies! 19 students attended these classes.
In this activity we allowed kids to have firsthand experience in how synthetic biology works as well as the importance of synthetic biology in our daily lives. The powerpoint went over the procedure of making the experiment-bacterial transformation-happen. Under the steps there was an explanation of why we do this and what it does to the bacteria and DNA we were working with and included a control group to show kids the difference between the 2 plates. We also listened to students’ ideas and asked them about what they would genetically engineer if they could. They all filled out cards with ideas that went from curing cancer to making dragons!
Our Reach and Impact
Through our seminars and workshops, we reached 94 people.
We utilized Instagram to spread information about our sessions, fundraise for our Jamboree trip, and post educational facts about chocolate production and the cacao tree. Since June 30, we have reached 1300 accounts and 92.3% (1200 accounts) are from people who did not previously follow us.
