Biotechnology Workshop IAFE Annual Conference

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Sharing Biotechnology at Fairs Expositions

• International Association of
• Fairs ExpositionsDecember 4, 2002
• Tom Zinnen
• Biotechnology Policy Outreach
• University of Wisconsin-Madison
• University of Wisconsin-Extension

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IAFE Missions

• To Educate
• To Inform
• To Entertain

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Biotechnology Is Controversial

• Biotechnology is changing how we look at life and
  how we lead our lives.
• Its about our bodies, our families, our land,
  our sense of right and wrong.

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Biotechnology is Controversial

• Its controversial nature makes it an opportunity
  for learning
• and for what Cooperative Extension folks call
  engagement.

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Inform Entertain

• Its also an opportunity for some fun with
  science.

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• Our Mission at BioTrek
• Sharing Science with Wisconsin
• Our Goal
• Transforming How People View Do Science
• Our Objective
• Enabling People to Use Science Better in Making
  Personal Choices Public Policies

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At BioTrek, we ask

• What is science?
• How is science different from other ways of
  knowing?
• Is science about answering What do you know?
• Or is science more about asking How do you know
  that? Show that? Test that?

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• What makes a good experiment?
• What makes a good experiment better?

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Heres what we avoid

• Explainaholism

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We embrace Exploration.

• Whats the Difference Between a Problem and a
  Puzzle?
• We Present Parables, Puzzles, Paradoxes

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What we do

• Tours Workshops at the Biotechnology Center on
  Campus
• Hands-on Science Workshops Anywhere in Wisconsin
• Website of Resources http//www.biotech.wisc.edu/
  Education

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Special Events

• Farm Progress Days
• UW Day at the Wisconsin State Fair
• Campus Open House
• Family Science Nights
• UW On the Road
• Future Fair

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Heres where we do Special Events

• In a Tent in an Alfalfa Field
• In the UW Stock Pavilion
• In a school gymnasium
• At museums
• In convention centers

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We work with

• Flow-by audiences
• Family groups
• Small mixed groups
• Clumps of students

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We collaborate with

• Our staff
• Extension colleagues
• Adult volunteers
• Youth volunteers
• University researchers
• Children of University researchers

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We do two types of Exploration Stations

1. Hands-on Exploration Stations
2. ReSearch Exploration Stations

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Both Require An Engaging Person

• A Puzzle Giver for Hands-on Exploration Stations
• A Researcher for ReSearch Exploration Stations
• This is the strength, and this is the weakness,
  of the Exploration Stations model.

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Exploration Stations

• Our competition at Farm Progress Days, at UW Day
  at the Wisconsin State Fair, and at other Special
  Events are not passive museum-type exhibits.
• The competition is the people who staff the other
  booths and exhibits and activities.
• No kiosk can compete with a Live Person.

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Hands-on Exploration Stations

• Extracting DNA from Wheat Germ

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Hands-on Exploration Stations

• Using a 200 Micropipette Learning to Measure
  Move a Millionth of a Liter

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Hands-on Exploration Stations

• The Glo Germ Handwashing Challenge

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Hands-on Exploration Stations

• Manduca Life Cycle

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ReSearch Exploration Stations

• Alfalfa
• Arabidopsis in Space
• C. elegans The See-through Worm of Insight
• Zebrafish From Fry to Fish in a Flash
• Colorful Carrots
• Gene Screening Wisconsin Newborn Screening
  Program

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ReSearch Exploration Stations
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ReSearch Exploration Stations
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ReSearch Exploration Stations
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ReSearch Exploration Stations
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ReSearch Exploration Stations
Gene Screening Wisconsin Newborn Screening
Program
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We work with the press to amplify our impact

• Press conference a month before Farm Progress
  Days
• Wisconsin Public Radio call-in shows a week
  before special events
• Newspaper and Radio coverage on the first of
  three days of Farm Progress Days

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Some things we havent figured out how to do yet

• Ethics in Under Five Minutes
• Scheduled talks
• Learner-driven computer-based interactive
  exhibits
• Evaluation of satisfaction
• Evaluation of transformation

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On the horizon

• Genomics
• Proteomics
• Stem Cells
• Drug Development
• Designer Foods
• Industrial Feedstocks from Crops
• Bioterrorism
• Invasive Species
• Diatoms Nanotechnology Driven by Microbial Savvy

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Benefits to your clients

• Science Savvy
• Enabling people to use science better in making
  personal choices and publicpolicies
• Awareness and insight into ethical analyses of
  current and upcomingtechnologies.

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Benefits to you

• Relevance through Being at the Edge
• Working with Researchers and Outreachers to
  Engage Your Visitors

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• Contact information
• Tom Zinnen
• Biotechnology Policy Outreach
• 425 Henry Mall
• Madison, WI 53706
• 608 265 2420
• Zinnen_at_biotech.wisc.edu
• www.biotech.wisc.edu/Education