Primary school is where secondary socialisation begins, where worldview of our curious next generation is brought into formation, and where initial sparks of interests are enlightened. As we wholeheartedly believe that curiosity should be explored at early stages of life, we decided to explore the idea of synthetic biology with these children and hoping to initiate some early enthusiasm.

To achieve it, we conducted a lesson with students in Shenzhen Qiaoxiang primary school, guiding them an informative tour to world of microbiology, covering the following concepts:

1. Learning Basic Structure of Cell
2. Understanding Functions of DNA
3. Brief Introduction to Synthetic Biology
4. Brief Introduction to Spider Mite and our Project

To engage more with these children, we divided them into teams and awarded points for groups that correctly answered the questions on the board. Motivated by the exciting and attentive atmosphere, all students were actively participating in the brainstorming of Syn-Bio related problems. They hastily raised hands, scrambling to answer any popped-up questions. While confronted with the parts they got confused, they would favorably ask our members till they totally understood it.

After the class, their interests in Syn-Bio continued, our members were submerged in their questions with enthusiasm. They wondered “why might DNA result in different appearances between siblings?” and “Could we grow a pair of wings if our DNA were modified?” Boundless imagination in their enthusiastically raised questions signify their ultimate embrace of synthetic biology. Moreover, as their inquiries imply understanding of the ideas of DNA and genes, we believe that the lesson did create an impact. A positive impact. And this spark of interest in the field of synthetic biology, we hope, will serve as a bridge to their further development in Synbio understanding in the future.

As teenagers and high school students, we recognize our responsibility to promote Synbio, engage our peers, and connect with potential iGEMers who can make further contributions to the development of synthetic biology and the entire community. Driven by the enthusiasm to promote this field of investigation and connect to adolescents with a high potential of endeavoring in this novel technology, we were committed to establishing a platform for education and intercommunication of synthetic biology.

This year, GreatBay-SCIE established an iGEM club in our members' high school, Shenzhen College of International Education. During club meetings, our team members would share lectures about synthetic biology along with some laboratory sessions embedded within lesson plans.

Considering that each student in the club may possess different extent of knowledge, we carefully prepared lecture sessions starting with fundamental theorems in biology and exhibited gradual growth in difficulty with time. We would prepare lessons with a beginner portion and an advanced portion, with pre-lesson reading materials introduced each time to ensure a profound understanding of advanced Synbio concepts as a whole.

In addition, basic topics impartial to any aspect are mindfully chosen, ensuring that students interested in any field of biology have something meaningful to take away. The syllabus for 3 given speeches are listed:

1. Cell structure
2. Macromolecules in synthetic biology
3. Central dogma & DNA replication

We should not confine knowledge to theory. Therefore, by launching lab sessions in school, we wish to provide club members valuable chances to experience the practicality of synthetic biology. Not only to expand understandings of Synbio, but to actually approach hands-on activities like synthetic biologists. Hence we planned a lab session mainly focusing on DNA gel electrophoresis, a technique widely applied in universal studies and believed to be a representative experiment in synthetic biology.

A short lecture explaining the mechanisms of gel electrophoresis in depth was given initially, minimizing confusion in subsequent practicals. Additionally, safety was emphasized throughout the session. All students were made to wear gloves and lab coats and were instructed with correct measures when approaching hazardous reagents.

Club members participating in the session were given two unknown samples of DNA of different sizes, which they would have to determine the identities of each based on gel electrophoresis results. Detailed protocol could be viewed in the attached document.

As the results were visualized, all members correctly identified each DNA with corresponding sizes, illustrating their solid understanding of gel electrophoresis and developed ability to deduce gel electrophoresis results. Several members reflected upon their errors regarding DNA sample loading and asked for some tips for them to improve in future opportunities. Although unable to arrange a second lab session in this short period, we believe that the members have gained clear insights into Synbio practicals and genuine interests were elicited. We hope the impact of these club meetings will inspire and equip members for future endeavors in this field, potentially fostering future iGEMers.

By virtue of interviews with amateur florists, we realised that they had little knowledge of pest prevention, such as repulsion of spider mites and elimination of egg. This consequently led to plants suffering from rampant invasion and severe destruction. Thereby, we organised a visit to Shenzhen Flower Market, where large number of individual planters gather, aiming to inform them of life cycle of spider mites and the their corresponding approach, involving the process of prevention, extermination and recovery.

We summarised educational content in leaflets, scattering them to the broad general public. Seed papers (a paper embedded with living seeds) are distributed simultaneously in the hope that people may put methods of pest prevention and extermination into practice.

During the communication with the florists, we observed that our audience expressed passion and pleasure about the popularization of precaution process. Many shared that "This is my first time of ever knowing that the health of plants is largely determined by the application of proventive measures. "

The informative yet easily-understandable nature of our leaflets supported an increase in the general public's knowledge base. Through entertainment, this unique hands-on approach enabled fun participation inclusive of all ages, gender, and groups. By actively embedding correct engagement within people's love for nature, our vital and effective educational implementation of Dienamite achieved significant success.

Concluded from the Integrated Human Practice, we classified amateur florists as the angel users of our product - meaning that they are the primary purchasing power of our product and their requirements should prior to being satisfied. However, their lack of understanding or misconceptions about synthetic biology may become a barrier, precenting acceptance and purchasing our product. To shatter their concerns and foster a closer connection with amateur florists, we invited them to Links-Spider lab for a seminar of intercommunication.

The seminar started with a group discussion, in which all flower-lovers were welcomed to share their own encounters with pest infections and other botanical obstacles, as well as their expectations for ideal pesticides. Listening to voices from our targeted customers assisted us to think from their perspective and develop a better understanding of their needs and wants.

Progressively, with the purpose of removing the barrier between general public and synthetic biology, an informative lab tour was guided by our members, explaining the functions and structures of machineries that appeared novel to them. Participants conveyed heightened interest in equipment and experimental protocols, asking questions actively.

At last, an indigo dye produced by genetically modified E.coli is provided for participants to stain pieces of fabric. They were enthralled by the vast potential of synthetic biology as they observed the vibrant, solid blue dye firmly adhered to the cloth. Some made optimistic predictions about the future prospects of the subject and expressed their eagerness to utilize related products.

By transforming synthetic biology (an equivocative and obscure phrase) into a palpable, artistic activity, adults can easily step into a contemporary field. As a result, we levitated the potential target consumers to expand our impact in hope for more a inclusive success of Dienamite.

Considering the limited effectiveness of lectures and conferences in reaching a broad audience, we decided to develop an official account on Wechat. With the help of Wechat's vast user base, we were enabled to facilitate the dissemination of knowledge via posting the Syn-Bio related notes and danger of spider mites. However, considering that professional terminologies may be too complicated for the public to understand, we shifted our focus to create a cartoon named "Back in time", aimming to convey the concept and development of synthetic biology to the public in a way that is acceptable for all age groups and backgrouds. A few days after it was posted, hundreds of Likes were received and more people subscribed to our account. Several subscribers commented our post asking more information about synthethic biology beyond the coverage of our cartoon: a lot of them encouraged us to post more articles regarding its applications on scientific research. This significantly reflected our project's positive influence on the societal population by successfully stimulating their immense curiosities and engagements regarding Synthetic Biology.
A cartoon narrates a gril travelled back in time experiencing the development of synthetic biology.

Through discussing with the owners of strawberry farm, we were startled to recognize how they had limited awareness of performing the protective measures when using chemical pestivide, with vague understanding of the dangers posed by existing toxic substances. Accordingly, to advocate the usage of protective measures, we organized a small seminar with a group of farmers.

At the beginning of the seminar, we presented a range of adverse health effects that pesticides may evoke if applying pesticides without proper protection, such as dizziness. These symptoms prompted the farmers to reflect on whether they had experienced similar issues in the past, enhancing their understanding of the associated dangers. Additionally, to facilitate our educational process, we distributed our Dienamite Instruction Book, which outlined first aid measures for accidents and safety instructions users should follow.

Link to product page

The response to this educational session was overwhelmingly positive. Many farmers expressed that this was the first time they truly understood the importance of these measures, which they had overlooked for years. Besides, several farmers were eager to share these effective protective methods with their neighbors. We are delighted that our educational efforts have heightened their awareness of self-protection, enabling them to use pesticides safely and avoid potential health issues.