INTRODUCTION

Science communication is an essential part of science. It allows the sharing of research results, conclusions, and the rationale behind the research among a plethora of stakeholders such as other scientists and the members of the society. Therefore, we made an attempt, despite the pandemic, to share information about synthetic biology and our project to a wide range of audiences from primary school students to the general public.

The materials created by the team for the purposes of science communication was based on research, suggestions, and support from the previous UNSW iGEM team members, UNSW Puzzle Society, and UNSW BABSOC (School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences Student Society). We aimed to gather constructive feedback and spark open discussions about synthetic biology and coral bleaching among target audiences through various modes of communication including written texts, videos, games, and presentations. (1) This led to the creation of the different components of science communication such as a children’s book, an education package, a virtual escape room, a recorded interview video with MolecularCloud, and a presentation for the general public. From these, the team hopes that we have and will continue to increase awareness and inspire our community to contribute to the prevention of coral bleaching. Therefore, we also have some potential future collaborations that we have planned with other partners.

Reference

Borup J, West RE, Thomas R. The impact of text versus video communication on instructor feedback in blended courses. Educational Technology Research and Development. 2015 Apr 1;63(2):161-84.

CHILDREN'S BOOK

The children’s book was targeted for children of the ages from six to nine. This book aimed to introduce children to 1) The main causes of global warming and 2) The effect it has on coral bleaching. It is both a story book and an activity book which empowers students to suppress global warming and hence coral bleaching.

EDUCATION PACKAGE

The education package was designed to suit year 11 and 12 students in New South Wales (NSW). It consisted of several components including an instruction page for educators, lecture slides, a supporting document, a physical card game, project brochure, and a feedback form.

VIRTUAL ESCAPE ROOM

Coral Conundrum is an online escape room which was aimed to expose university students to synthetic biology and our project. It also encouraged attendees to have open discussions about the topics with their teammates as they followed the storyline.

MOLECULARCLOUD INTERVIEW

An interview session about our project overview was conducted between MolecularCloud and the UNSW 2020 iGEM team. The aim of this interview was to communicate our project about saving corals to the general public.

PRESENTING TO THE PUBLIC

“How is Science Solving Local and Global Challenges?” was the theme of our presentation and panel discussion about taking on challenges. This was based on our iGEM project and the application of synthetic biology.