To ensure our program fit the needs of this community we connected with Patee Ramsey: the WindsorMeade lifestyle coordinator, Laura Mullen: the Williamsburg Landing Manager of Activities and Melissa Degaraff: the Administrative Coordinator Christopher Wren Association. With each of these individuals we discussed the interests of their communities, the appropriate length of a program and the background knowledge participants would be bringing into the program. <b>This solidified our goal of creating an interactive program which allowed participants to develop their own opinions about synthetic biology based on current applications and techniques in the science. </b>We decided to leave the bulk of the hour program for conversations and questions, including several scenarios for the groups to talk through. Knowing the background of our community also helped us prepare for the kinds of questions we would be asked during the presentation. Particularly with Williamsburg Landing we were informed many of the residents had strong memories of the Cold War which influence their perceptions of advancements in science. Knowing this helped us better prepare for potential questions.
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The adults discussed topics such the ethics behind editing the human genome and potential uses of SynBio in medicine. The program pushed participants to think about where we draw ethical lines. The participants had the opportunity to discuss in small groups as well as engage in a larger discussion. Members of the iGEM team floated around the room, clarifying misconceptions, and answering questions.
On July 18th William and Mary opened their doors to the public for a Building with Biology public forum. We wanted to bring together all our multidisciplinary partners and invited all the members of our community, not focusing on a specific demographic but rather reaching out to anybody interested in the event. We had over 80 attendees- approximately 25 children, 18 teenagers, and 40 adults.
The evening started with a catered dinner and brief opening remarks. The attendees were then divided into three categories based on age. This made the event somewhat logistically challenging as three concurrent events were happening simultaneously. We focused heavily on hands-on experiences for the children and teenagers while the adults participated in a public forum program sponsored by Building with Biology. The adult program was called Editing our Evolution, the program packets can be found Here "building with bio packet”.
The adults discussed topics such the ethics behind editing the human genome and potential uses of SynBio in medicine. The program pushed participants to think about where we draw ethical lines. The participants had the opportunity to discuss in small groups as well as engage in a larger discussion. Members of the iGEM team floated around the room, clarifying misconceptions, and answering questions.
