Team:BGU Israel/Outreach
From 2013.igem.org
Outreach Introduction
We embarked on a massive outreach campaign to encourage discourse with the public about synthetic biology, in order to dispel misconceptions and foster debate. Our outreach campaign was aimed at reaching as many people from different communities and age groups as possible. We wanted to burst out of the invisible walls separating the academy from the general public and trigger discussions in a variety of platforms, making the subject accessible to all.
SynBio for Kids
It’s a cliché, but children really are the future (and so is synthetic biology!). We ran fun synbio activities at Science Night, a children’s science festival, and created an activity kit that others can use to help kids learn about synthetic biology.
Science Night
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Activity Kit
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Media
We took a two-pronged approach to our media campaign in order to make synthetic biology accessible to as many people as possible through a wide variety of channels.
New Media: The Bottom-Up Approach
Conventional Media: The Top-Down Approach
Special Events
Ever go to a wine-tasting and get a taste of synthetic biology? Or read a great science fiction novel and discover that actually, it’s close to becoming reality? Or attended a day of lectures for the general public inspired by synthetic biology?
Wine Festival
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Gooogle
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Yanki
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Art
To spice up our outreach efforts, we looked for humorous, creative and fun ways to promote synthetic biology. One of our initiatives was connecting synthetic biology to art!
SynBio Caricature Competition
We organized a synthetic biology caricature contest that we advertised in various art programs and on Facebook, to give a chance for art creative way to explain synthetic biology in an illustration of any kind. Our purpose was both to collect funny and sharp caricatures and to let people with no biological background think about synthetic biology and describe it or criticize it using art.
Gallery in the University
Bio Ethics
We wanted to engage the community in a discussion of the ethical questions involved in synthetic biology, and so we crowdsourced for questions for an ethics FAQ.
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