Introduction

On the 11th of September 2024, iGEM TU-Eindhoven organized the second edition of the iGEM Challenge Day at Eindhoven University of Technology. We welcomed forty high school students who were in their (pre-)examination year of HAVO or VWO, which are the higher forms of education for high school in the Netherlands and prepare them for associate degrees or university. Since we believe these students are the next generation of synthetic biology engineers, we put a lot of time and effort in creating a wonderful day full of challenges.

The purpose

The purpose of the Challenge Day was to create an educational and engaging experience for high school students interested in synthetic biology. Our main goal was to provide a fun, interactive day where students could learn about the subject in a hands-on, creative way. To achieve this, we focused on ensuring plenty of opportunities for interaction and problem-solving, allowing students to actively participate in the learning process.

Research in education and pedagogy has shown that interactive learning fosters a safe and supportive environment, which is crucial for both professional and personal growth. With this in mind, we designed the day to encourage curiosity, collaboration, and critical thinking. Before planning the event, we set clear learning goals, both for the students and ourselves as organizers, to ensure that the day was impactful and rewarding for everyone involved.

Learning goals

For the students:

• Learn about the possibilities within synthetic biology via examples and creation of a poster in which they come up with a synthetic biologic solution to a world problem.
• Develop soft skills, such as creative thinking, problem solving, working in a team and pitching work to a jury.
• Understand the safety rules of working in a laboratory and knowing why they are important.
• Understand the principals of gel-electrophoresis as a technique for DNA separation.
• Find out whether (synthetic) biology and/or working in the laboratory could be a possible career or study option.

For the iGEM TU-Eindhoven 2024 team:

• Learn how to organize an (educational) event. Keeping in mind things such as planning, regulation, communication and finances.
• Learn how to make educational exercises involving (synthetic) biology.
• Learn how to effectively transfer academic knowledge to high school students.
• Learn how to keep high school students enthusiastic and interested.

Preparation

We started preparing for this day around the end of April. That seems like a long time in advance, but we are glad we did. It took a long time before we could reach students to register. We wanted to prevent students from being forced by their teacher or school, so we decided that all students had to register themselves. However, they could indicate who they wanted to work with during the day, so they would not have to feel alone nor scared of an unknown environment. After the registration deadline at the 10th of July, we started preparing the content of the day. We divided the day in two parts: one theoretical and one practical.

As for the theoretical part, the students worked in groups of four to make a poster on which they explained a solution to a world problem using synthetic biology. At the end of the day, there was a poster market where they had to pitch their idea and poster to the other students and a jury. Everyone received a certificate of attendance and a gold medal and on top of that, the best posters were awarded with the prize of a gift card. This part of the day was very comparable to a mini iGEM journey and jamboree. To enhance the interactive aspect, each team was given 400 euros in monopoly money to invest in their favorite ideas. Investments ranged from a minimum of 50 euros to a maximum of 200 euros per team, allowing them to support between two and eight teams. The team that accumulated the most invested money won the public prize, while the jury determined the winners of the jury prize.

For the practical component, we conducted a laboratory experiment and created an escape room, both centered around the same murder mystery involving Klaas van der Maas, the owner of the diary factory in Ravensberg. In the lab, students performed DNA gel electrophoresis, which narrowed down the suspects to two individuals. In the escape room, they uncovered that Lucas O. was the culprit behind Klaas's murder. Lucas acted impulsively out of fear for his reputation in the city, a decision he later regretted. Alongside the engaging nature of these activities, we also integrated relevant links into our project and team:

• The murder weapon was a syringe filled with bacteria, which was a link to Wiliam Coley’s experiment in the early 1900’s, the inspiration to our project.
• The detective was called PROMISE, which is our project name.
• All team members were mentioned in the story and had similar roles. For example: Lizette worked at the laboratory and Lucas had to convice Klaas to invest in his ideas.

The instructions for the poster assignment and escape room, as well as the lab preparations and protocols were originally in Dutch, but we translated these files for your inspiration. You can find them in the drop-downs below.

You can read more detailed information in a manual on how to organize the Challenge Day on our contribution page.

Experience

Opening

Despite meticulous preparations, the day began with an unexpected challenge: a morning strike by Dutch public transport caused some delays, leaving a few participants late. However, this did little to dampen the overall atmosphere. Students who eventually arrived were enthusiastic and eager to dive into the day, particularly the laboratory activities. After receiving safety instructions and a quick recap of what they had missed, they were able to enjoy most of the planned events.

Those who managed to arrive on time, thanks to alternative travel options, participated in a more detailed opening session. We introduced them to iGEM, not just as a competition but as a vibrant community. To kick things off, we asked them to contribute to a word cloud about their understanding of synthetic biology. Their responses highlighted that the field was relatively unfamiliar to them, with most associating it with cells, research, genetics, and biological design. We then explained our perspective: synthetic biology is about enhancing biological systems by modifying DNA and working with genetically modified organisms (GMOs), providing real-world examples along the way. Additionally, we introduced our team, project, and sponsors.

After covering iGEM and our team’s goals, we outlined the day’s activities. This included a poster assignment on synthetic biology and an engaging murder mystery, where students would solve the crime of Klaas van der Maas by conducting lab-based investigations and participating in an escape room. The storyline for this activity was met with excitement and laughter, as the students found it amusing. We concluded by sharing the day’s schedule, ensuring everyone was ready for the activities ahead.

Poster Assignment

During the poster assignment, we walked around to engage with the students, discussing their ideas and the projects they were working on. We were genuinely impressed and pleasantly surprised by their creativity, with concepts ranging from therapeutic solutions to innovations in the food industry. It was amazing to see their passion as they enthusiastically shared their ideas. By this point, their understanding of synthetic biology had significantly improved compared to the morning, and they expressed how much they had already learned. You can see some examples of their projects below:

Laboratory Assignment - DNA gel-electrophoresis

For many students, it was their first time entering a real laboratory, and the excitement was palpable. The step-by-step protocol provided clear guidance, and there were plenty of people available to assist with any questions. We were also pleased to see how seriously the students adhered to the safety rules, ensuring a safe and organized environment for everyone. To foster a comfortable environment, we emphasized that the only "stupid" questions are the ones not asked, encouraging students to voice any uncertainties. This approach led to better understanding and a positive atmosphere. Anticipating that pipetting might be challenging for some, we had a backup gel and reference photos of the expected results. However, we were thrilled to see that many students executed the procedure correctly and were able to draw accurate conclusions before moving on to the escape room.

Escape Room

In the escape room, students had to deduce which of the two remaining suspects after gel-electrophoresis was responsible for Klaas’s murder. Through a series of puzzles and by mailing neighbor Babs Terium, they discovered that Lucas O. had killed Klaas, motivated by fear for his reputation—though he later regretted it. To our surprise, the students solved the mystery faster than we had anticipated, demonstrating sharp problem-solving skills. This actually worked in our favor, as it helped make up for the earlier delays in the laboratory.

Poster Market

After putting in so much effort and creating impressive posters, the students had the chance to present their work at the poster market, where they shared their insights with both their peers and the jury. To make it more interactive, we turned the experience into an investment game, as explained earlier. The students enthusiastically jumped into the challenge, eager to bank the most money and potentially win a prize. Some even took it a step further, doing push-ups and sit-ups to earn extra points. While this wasn't part of the plan, we were just glad they were having such a great time, and the atmosphere was amazing. It was wonderful to see students connecting with people they had never met before, which, for us, is something we are particularly proud of. It goes beyond simple education - it’s a sign of personal growth!

Closing

After the poster market, we collected the students’ money and began calculating the public prize winner while the jury deliberated on the jury prize. To keep the students engaged during this time, we invited them to take part in an evaluation. The results of this evaluation will be detailed in the “Evaluation Section.” We wanted to ensure that every participant felt valued and proud of their accomplishments, so we awarded everyone a gold medal and a participation certificate. This gesture was met with enthusiasm, and the students felt both appreciated and satisfied. We ended the day with a small pitch about synthetic biology within iGEM and the possibilities for them and thanked them for this amazing day!

Photobook

High school students in the laboratory

Introduction in the laboratory

High school students in the laboratory

Simon shining in the laboratory

High school students working on their poster

High school students working on their poster

Introduction to the laboratory and escape room

Lunch break

High school students working on their poster

High school students working on their poster

A gel made by a group of high school students

The bank were student could get "monopoly money"

Students doing push-ups to claim the "monopoly money"

Congratulating winners of the poster challenge

Group picture at the end of the day

Figuring out who won the poster challenge

Explanation of the poster market

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Evaluation

We are incredibly happy to report that Challenge Day 2024 was a great success. The event ran smoothly, and the students' energy and engagement created an amazing atmosphere throughout the day. We had set high expectations for the learning goals we outlined beforehand, and we are proud to say that these goals were fully achieved.

Achieved Learning Goals

As we had hoped, the students gained valuable insights into synthetic biology. Through the combination of theoretical and practical tasks, they not only learned more about the applications of synthetic biology but also developed essential skills such as creative thinking, teamwork, and problem-solving. Additionally, the laboratory experiment proved to be an excellent way to introduce students academic protocols, safety regulations and techniques like DNA gel electrophoresis.

For our team, we also accomplished our objectives. We gained significant experience in organizing an educational event and learned how to effectively convey scientific knowledge to a younger audience. The balance between education and fun was spot on, and we are thrilled that the students remained enthusiastic and engaged throughout the entire day.

Excellent Feedback

The feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive. Students reported feeling well-engaged and comfortable throughout the day, with particular appreciation for the interactive and practical components, such as the lab work and the poster market. The event’s educational and enjoyable atmosphere was highlighted, with 96.8% of students explaining that the day met or exceeded their expectations. The gel electrophoresis assignment in the laboratory and the poster creation activities were particularly praised as valuable and memorable. Overall, 71% of the students awarded the day 4 out of 5 and the remaining 29% even rated it 5 out of 5!

A notable 83.9% of students felt that the content was well-aligned with what they learn at school, and they found this aspect very satisfying. Additionally, 9.7% noted that while the content did not align with their school curriculum, they still enjoyed the experience.

Participants appreciated the clear pre-event instructions and found the day’s organization to be both efficient and effective. The catering met expectations, and the venue’s accessibility further enhanced the overall experience. Suggestions for improvement included better time management to prevent a crowded schedule, slightly longer breaks, and possibly replacing the escape room with a campus tour to provide a better opportunity to explore the university. Overall, the feedback was very encouraging and we saw a lot of smiles during the day. Especially when we awarded them with their gold medal and attendance certificate.

Conclusion

Overall, we look back on a highly successful edition of Challenge Day. The learning goals were met, the students were enthusiastic, and the feedback we received motivates us to encourage the next iGEM TU-Eindhoven team to continue this event in the future. We are proud of what we achieved as a team and hope that we have inspired many of these students to pursue further studies in science.