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From 2014hs.igem.org

Human Practices/Outreach

As a grassroots organization in the state of Georgia for high school students, our iGEM Team find it pertinent that we nurture a new generation of students who are interested in science and help them keep pace with developing technologies occurring in the synthetic biology field today. (See us in action in the Gallery!)

Next Generation Focus Saturday Tutoring

There are many students in our local area who are unable to receive financial and familial support for their education. We have partnered with a local organization, Next Generation Focus (NGF), to reach out to children in the area and introduce them to biology and biotechnology. Next Generation Focus provides Saturday tutoring services for economically disadvantaged students in Forsyth County and recently began a STEM program in which the second Saturday of every month is dedicated to science and technology. This year Lambert iGEM adopted two Saturdays, and members prepared short lesson plans for elementary school students to help expose them to a field they have never known through crafts, games, and team activities.

February 2014:

The Lambert iGEM Team took over a STEM Saturday and had the kids use small micro viewers to look at magnified plastic microslides of bacteria, viruses, fungi, plant and animal cells. We taught them about microbes, pathogens, and most importantly, deoxyribonucleic acid. The highlight was having each child pair with an older iGEM buddy and assigning them to a syllable in “deoxyribonucleic acid”. We had them say their designated syllable down the line with amusing results. The students were engaged and interested, and we were happy to teach them about a world invisible to the naked eye.

April 2014:

We returned to build on our previous lesson by teaching them parts of the cell. Though we did not expect them to remember the cell organelles and their functions, the theme of the lesson was that cells have smaller parts that keep them functioning. Rather than “pin the tail on the donkey”, we had “pin the organelle onto the cell”. The students also used Twizzlers and colored marshmallows to construct mini edible DNA models that taught them the fundamentals of base pairing. We also filmed our “Let It Grow” music video, which the kids the students enjoyed wholeheartedly.

Whitlow Elementary Science Night

As part of iGEM’s goal to expand the ideas of biotechnology in the community, a group of iGEM students participated at the annual STEM Night at Whitlow Elementary. Here a diverse collection of subjects were discussed and iGEM was able to demonstrate common biotechnology applications to young children. The children were amazed and demonstrated curiosity in the synthetic biotechnology field. We demonstrated how a micropipette is used and the miniscule volume that is measured by them. Furthermore, a gel electrophoresis was set up to show some of the unique apparatus we work with. Parents attending were able to gain an understanding of the goals our team had set as well as the objectives of iGEM as a whole, and as a result Lambert iGEM has garnered recognition in the community as a well-developed club that has been able to accomplish admirable feats just a year after its inauguration.

Future

Next year we will continue to partner with NGF and expand our program. Half of the proceeds of our main fundraiser will be donated toward charity, and we hope to begin a summer biotechnology summer camp for middle-school students in the coming years.