The Read for Love Summer Camp was held by NCKU Library and the Saint Island Charity Foundation. Many elementary students joined this summer camp to record stories for the visually impaired. And with the help of one of our PIs, Dr. Han-Qing Wang, we took this opportunity to introduce synthetic biology and glaucoma to the children. Teaching children such complicated topics is not as easy as we thought it would be. Considering that they were elementary students, we added a lot of animations to our PowerPoint slides to gain their attention and make it easier for them to imagine the mechanism of glaucoma. We also had to simplify our explanations using a variety of ways, including not using any scientific terms while explaining the structure of the eye. This method worked! Not only were they able to understand what They enthusiastically shared their ideas about synthetic biology.

More than that, we talked about the symptoms of glaucoma and how to prevent them. By raising glaucoma awareness among young children from an early age, we can cultivate the young generation that understands glaucoma.

As it was held by the Saint Island Charity Foundation, they asked some of the participants, including us, to wear eye masks. We were challenged to experience Braille, listened, drew, ate, and walked in the dark. It allowed us to have more interaction with the children. From this activity, we also learned that the “learning through play” method offers a meaningful way of education. It also allowed us to understand more about the world of the visually impaired, and it gave us the idea for our special event called Into the Darkness.

We visited the best high school in town, particularly Tainan First Senior High School scientific research club. First, we introduced iGEM and synthetic biology. Then, we talked about several past iGEM projects to let them understand the application of synthetic biology in the real world. After that, we divided them into a 5-6 members group and had a brainstorming session about how to solve the problems by synthetic biology. Where each of the groups had one iGEM member to guide them through brainstorming. We ask about what problem they want to solve, then find what causes that problem and how to use synthetic biology to solve it. Then, we ask them to share their ideas. It was their first time learning about gene editing. However, they were able to give us countless marvelous ideas.

After that, we introduced our project and taught them the importance of glaucoma. However, we discovered that they hadn't learned biology for a long time. We then tried to simplify the explanation of the eye structure as much as possible, to ensure that they understood. From this experience, we learned that we always need to think of our audience's background knowledge, even though they are a high school student already.

Moreover, we also did a DIY perimeter to measure the peripheral vision. They were very excited and enthusiastic! We hope to inspire them to be the next generation of iGEMers.

Check out this video to know more about how we conducted our education in TNFSH and their feedback!

Also watch this tutorial video of the DIY perimeter!

As the elderly have a higher risk for glaucoma, we were grateful to have the opportunity to visit the YMCA. We talked about synthetic biology and glaucoma there. However, in Taiwan, the older generation tends to communicate with the Taiwanese language, and most of them can't speak or understand Mandarin or the official language. And, it goes the same for the younger generation towards the Taiwanese language. This language barrier was a problem for us. Therefore, to be more engaged with the elderly, we communicate using the Taiwanese language or Taiwanese Hokkien. It was a challenge and a new experience for us. Especially when we had to mention some professional terms, we searched for the translation and memorized them. We tried our best to ensure that the elderly understood us.

Then, we talked about how to prevent glaucoma and the way to take care of the eyes. Besides all the talks, we had a game activity to teach them about blindness. We asked some of the elderly to wear a blindfold, then draw something with the guidance of the non-blindfolded elderly. It would let them understand blindness and know how to assist the visually impaired people.

Simultaneously, we conducted a survey for our device, Eye Screen. We cut some cardboard papers and wrote a number in it, making it easier for the elderly. They were so friendly and kind. YMCA was really a great experience.

By doing so, we directly engaged with people of all ages, from children to the elderly, to understand synthetic biology and glaucoma. By adjusting the way to teach them according to their age and knowledge, we can let everyone understand synthetic biology and glaucoma. However, only using traditional methods such as lectures and classes won't reach everyone. Therefore, we decided to use newer and modern ways. In this technological era, we utilize social media to connect with the public. Here's what we have done.

According to Glaucoma UK, June 29 - July 5, 2020, was the glaucoma awareness week. Hence, we had this responsibility to share about glaucoma. We made seven posts about general information on glaucoma, from what is glaucoma, who might be at risk for glaucoma, and how to prevent glaucoma. Then posted it on social media, such as Instagram and Facebook. Each day, we shared one fact about glaucoma. And we also let anyone repost. This way, we can increase glaucoma awareness among people across the globe who use social media.

Nowadays, the podcast is getting more popular in Taiwan. Many people listen to a podcast or make their own podcasts, especially in this pandemic era. We realized this might be a way to engage with the public too. Hence, we created The Something Podcast. The Something Podcast has six episodes in total, and each episode was released weekly every Saturday morning starting from September.

While deciding the topics for each episode, we want the listeners to understand iGEM completely. That's why The Something Podcast was separated into three sections. The first section (episode 1-3) is all about iGEM. We briefly introduced synthetic biology and talked about iGEM, including the sub-teams and what they do. Then, our project and how we came up with Eye kNOw. Next, in the second section (episode 4 and 5), we talked more about the details of synthetic biology and glaucoma with the experts, which are our PIs. And in the last episode, we did a review of our podcast. We talked about what problems we faced and the effectiveness of our podcast as an education platform.

More than that, By inviting our amazing guests. From previous NCKU iGEMers, our members, to PIs, to share their experiences. We provided a hands-on practice concept, allowing the listeners to understand more about iGEM, iGEM NCKU Tainan, and know that iGEM is more than just a competition. By sharing, we can stay connected.

Inspired by the 5 levels series video from YouTube, we decided to make one where we explained synthetic biology to people with 5 different levels of understanding. A middle school student, a high school student, a college student, a grad student, and an expert. With this video, we can let everyone understand synthetic biology regardless of their education background.

The Read for Love Summer Camp was held by NCKU Library and the Saint Island Charity Foundation. Many elementary students joined this summer camp to record stories for the visually impaired. And with the help of one of our PIs, Dr. Han-Qing Wang, we took this opportunity to introduce synthetic biology and glaucoma to the children. Teaching children such complicated topics is not as easy as we thought it would be. Considering that they were elementary students, we added a lot of animations to our PowerPoint slides to gain their attention and make it easier for them to imagine the mechanism of glaucoma. We also had to simplify our explanations using a variety of ways, including not using any scientific terms while explaining the structure of the eye. This method worked! Not only were they able to understand what They enthusiastically shared their ideas about synthetic biology.

More than that, we talked about the symptoms of glaucoma and how to prevent them. By raising glaucoma awareness among young children from an early age, we can cultivate the young generation that understands glaucoma.

As it was held by the Saint Island Charity Foundation, they asked some of the participants, including us, to wear eye masks. We were challenged to experience Braille, listened, drew, ate, and walked in the dark. It allowed us to have more interaction with the children. From this activity, we also learned that the “learning through play” method offers a meaningful way of education. It also allowed us to understand more about the world of the visually impaired, and it gave us the idea for our special event called Into the Darkness.