Biotechnology 101 and Dance ’N Action in the Park
Hosted by the MaRS Discovery District, the Canadian Biotechnology Education Resource Centre (CBERC), The Biotechnology Initiative (TBI), the Ontario Genomics Institute (OGI) and the Golden Horseshoe Biosciences Network.
On Friday, 26 September, National Biotechnology Education Day, over two hundred students and teachers were joined by TBI members and members of the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation at the Biotechnology 101 presentation followed by day two of Dance ‘N Action (DNA) in the Park. The presentation at MaRS comprised a video presentation about the MaRS Discovery District led by Linda Quattrin of MaRS, a lively presentation by award winning teacher Dr. Danielle Gauci of Northern Secondary School on the basics of Biotechnology and a hands on activity led by Dr. Alison Symington of CBERC where all 225 participants isolated DNA in 10 minutes. Ali Ibrahimi from TBI thanked Dr. Gauci and encouraged the students to consider a career in biotechnology.
The students then joined the Ontario Genomics Institute and the Golden Horseshoe Biosciences Network , with performers and students from McMaster University, for Dance ‘N Action in the Park, a lively and interactive interpretation of genomics and biotechnology featuring live music, dance and the spoken word at Metro Square in Toronto. The DNA in the Park event in Toronto was preceded by its first showing at Gore Park in Hamilton on Thursday, 25 September, which engaged approximately 400 members of the general public, helping raise awareness of genomics in an engaging and interactive way by incorporating the arts of dance, poetry, and music into the sciences of biotechnology and genes.
Reaction to these events were outstanding, with each being deemed a stunning success.
