Visualizing the invisible: class excursions to ignite children’s enthusiasm for microbes
Summary We have recently argued that, because microbes have pervasive – often vital – influences on our lives, and that therefore their roles must be taken into account in many of the decisions we face, society must become microbiology‐literate, through the introduction of relevant microbiology topi...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2020-07-01
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| Series: | Microbial Biotechnology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.13576 |
| _version_ | 1818918072732352512 |
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| author | Terry J. McGenity Amare Gessesse John E. Hallsworth Esther Garcia Cela Carol Verheecke‐Vaessen Fengping Wang Max Chavarría Max M. Haggblom Søren Molin Antoine Danchin Eddy J. Smid Cédric Lood Charles S. Cockell Corinne Whitby Shuang‐Jiang Liu Nancy P. Keller Lisa Y. Stein Seth R. Bordenstein Rup Lal Olga C. Nunes Lone Gram Brajesh K. Singh Nicole S. Webster Cindy Morris Sharon Sivinski Saskia Bindschedler Pilar Junier André Antunes Bonnie K. Baxter Paola Scavone Kenneth Timmis |
| author_facet | Terry J. McGenity Amare Gessesse John E. Hallsworth Esther Garcia Cela Carol Verheecke‐Vaessen Fengping Wang Max Chavarría Max M. Haggblom Søren Molin Antoine Danchin Eddy J. Smid Cédric Lood Charles S. Cockell Corinne Whitby Shuang‐Jiang Liu Nancy P. Keller Lisa Y. Stein Seth R. Bordenstein Rup Lal Olga C. Nunes Lone Gram Brajesh K. Singh Nicole S. Webster Cindy Morris Sharon Sivinski Saskia Bindschedler Pilar Junier André Antunes Bonnie K. Baxter Paola Scavone Kenneth Timmis |
| author_sort | Terry J. McGenity |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Summary We have recently argued that, because microbes have pervasive – often vital – influences on our lives, and that therefore their roles must be taken into account in many of the decisions we face, society must become microbiology‐literate, through the introduction of relevant microbiology topics in school curricula (Timmis et al. 2019. Environ Microbiol 21: 1513‐1528). The current coronavirus pandemic is a stark example of why microbiology literacy is such a crucial enabler of informed policy decisions, particularly those involving preparedness of public‐health systems for disease outbreaks and pandemics. However, a significant barrier to attaining widespread appreciation of microbial contributions to our well‐being and that of the planet is the fact that microbes are seldom visible: most people are only peripherally aware of them, except when they fall ill with an infection. And it is disease, rather than all of the positive activities mediated by microbes, that colours public perception of ‘germs’ and endows them with their poor image. It is imperative to render microbes visible, to give them life and form for children (and adults), and to counter prevalent misconceptions, through exposure to imagination‐capturing images of microbes and examples of their beneficial outputs, accompanied by a balanced narrative. This will engender automatic mental associations between everyday information inputs, as well as visual, olfactory and tactile experiences, on the one hand, and the responsible microbes/microbial communities, on the other hand. Such associations, in turn, will promote awareness of microbes and of the many positive and vital consequences of their actions, and facilitate and encourage incorporation of such consequences into relevant decision‐making processes. While teaching microbiology topics in primary and secondary school is key to this objective, a strategic programme to expose children directly and personally to natural and managed microbial processes, and the results of their actions, through carefully planned class excursions to local venues, can be instrumental in bringing microbes to life for children and, collaterally, their families. In order to encourage the embedding of microbiology‐centric class excursions in current curricula, we suggest and illustrate here some possibilities relating to the topics of food (a favourite pre‐occupation of most children), agriculture (together with horticulture and aquaculture), health and medicine, the environment and biotechnology. And, although not all of the microbially relevant infrastructure will be within reach of schools, there is usually access to a market, local food store, wastewater treatment plant, farm, surface water body, etc., all of which can provide opportunities to explore microbiology in action. If children sometimes consider the present to be mundane, even boring, they are usually excited with both the past and the future so, where possible, visits to local museums (the past) and research institutions advancing knowledge frontiers (the future) are strongly recommended, as is a tapping into the natural enthusiasm of local researchers to leverage the educational value of excursions and virtual excursions. Children are also fascinated by the unknown, so, paradoxically, the invisibility of microbes makes them especially fascinating objects for visualization and exploration. In outlining some of the options for microbiology excursions, providing suggestions for discussion topics and considering their educational value, we strive to extend the vistas of current class excursions and to: (i) inspire teachers and school managers to incorporate more microbiology excursions into curricula; (ii) encourage microbiologists to support school excursions and generally get involved in bringing microbes to life for children; (iii) urge leaders of organizations (biopharma, food industries, universities, etc.) to give school outreach activities a more prominent place in their mission portfolios, and (iv) convey to policymakers the benefits of providing schools with funds, materials and flexibility for educational endeavours beyond the classroom. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T00:44:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-41978669f2a1403cba7d12d6e712a0b0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1751-7915 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T00:44:09Z |
| publishDate | 2020-07-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Microbial Biotechnology |
| spelling | doaj.art-41978669f2a1403cba7d12d6e712a0b02022-12-21T19:59:27ZengWileyMicrobial Biotechnology1751-79152020-07-0113484488710.1111/1751-7915.13576Visualizing the invisible: class excursions to ignite children’s enthusiasm for microbesTerry J. McGenity0Amare Gessesse1John E. Hallsworth2Esther Garcia Cela3Carol Verheecke‐Vaessen4Fengping Wang5Max Chavarría6Max M. Haggblom7Søren Molin8Antoine Danchin9Eddy J. Smid10Cédric Lood11Charles S. Cockell12Corinne Whitby13Shuang‐Jiang Liu14Nancy P. Keller15Lisa Y. Stein16Seth R. Bordenstein17Rup Lal18Olga C. Nunes19Lone Gram20Brajesh K. Singh21Nicole S. Webster22Cindy Morris23Sharon Sivinski24Saskia Bindschedler25Pilar Junier26André Antunes27Bonnie K. Baxter28Paola Scavone29Kenneth Timmis30School of Life Sciences University of Essex Colchester UKDepartment of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology Botswana International University of Science and Technology Palapye BotswanaInstitute for Global Food Security School of Biological Sciences Queen’s University Belfast Belfast UKSchool of Life and Medical Science University of Hertfordshire Hatfield UKCranfield Soil and Agrifood Institute Cranfield University Cranfield UKSchool of Life Sciences and Biotechnology Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai 200240 ChinaEscuela de Química Centro de Investigaciones en Productos Naturales (CIPRONA) Universidad de Costa Rica San José Costa RicaDepartment of Biochemistry and Microbiology Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ USANovo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability Technical University of Denmark Lyngby DenmarkInstitut Cochin 24 rue du Faubourg Saint‐Jacques 75014Paris FranceFood Microbiology Wageningen University and Research Wageningen The NetherlandsDepartment of Microbial and Molecular Systems Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics Laboratory of Computational Systems Biology KU Leuven 3001Leuven BelgiumSchool of Physics and Astronomy University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UKSchool of Life Sciences University of Essex Colchester UKChinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100101 ChinaDepartment of Medical Microbiology and Immunology University of Wisconsin Madison WI USADepartment of Biological Sciences University of Alberta Edmonton AB CanadaDepartment of Biological Sciences Vanderbilt Microbiome Initiative Vanderbilt University Nashville TN USAThe Energy and Resources Institute Lodhi Road New Delhi 110003 IndiaDepartment of Chemical Engineering University of Porto 4200‐465Porto PortugalDepartment of Biotechnology and Biomedicine Technical University of Denmark Lyngby DenmarkHawkesbury Institute for the Environment University of Western Sydney Penrith AustraliaAustralian Institute of Marine Science Townsville QLD AustraliaINRAE Pathologie Végétale 84140Montfavet FranceAlbuquerque NM USAInstitute of Biology University of Neuchâtel Neuchâtel SwitzerlandInstitute of Biology University of Neuchâtel Neuchâtel SwitzerlandState Key Laboratory of Lunar and Planetary Sciences Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) Taipa, Macau SAR ChinaGreat Salt Lake Institute Westminster College Salt Lake City Utah USADepartment of Microbiology Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable Montevideo UruguayInstitute of Microbiology Technical University of Braunschweig Braunschweig GermanySummary We have recently argued that, because microbes have pervasive – often vital – influences on our lives, and that therefore their roles must be taken into account in many of the decisions we face, society must become microbiology‐literate, through the introduction of relevant microbiology topics in school curricula (Timmis et al. 2019. Environ Microbiol 21: 1513‐1528). The current coronavirus pandemic is a stark example of why microbiology literacy is such a crucial enabler of informed policy decisions, particularly those involving preparedness of public‐health systems for disease outbreaks and pandemics. However, a significant barrier to attaining widespread appreciation of microbial contributions to our well‐being and that of the planet is the fact that microbes are seldom visible: most people are only peripherally aware of them, except when they fall ill with an infection. And it is disease, rather than all of the positive activities mediated by microbes, that colours public perception of ‘germs’ and endows them with their poor image. It is imperative to render microbes visible, to give them life and form for children (and adults), and to counter prevalent misconceptions, through exposure to imagination‐capturing images of microbes and examples of their beneficial outputs, accompanied by a balanced narrative. This will engender automatic mental associations between everyday information inputs, as well as visual, olfactory and tactile experiences, on the one hand, and the responsible microbes/microbial communities, on the other hand. Such associations, in turn, will promote awareness of microbes and of the many positive and vital consequences of their actions, and facilitate and encourage incorporation of such consequences into relevant decision‐making processes. While teaching microbiology topics in primary and secondary school is key to this objective, a strategic programme to expose children directly and personally to natural and managed microbial processes, and the results of their actions, through carefully planned class excursions to local venues, can be instrumental in bringing microbes to life for children and, collaterally, their families. In order to encourage the embedding of microbiology‐centric class excursions in current curricula, we suggest and illustrate here some possibilities relating to the topics of food (a favourite pre‐occupation of most children), agriculture (together with horticulture and aquaculture), health and medicine, the environment and biotechnology. And, although not all of the microbially relevant infrastructure will be within reach of schools, there is usually access to a market, local food store, wastewater treatment plant, farm, surface water body, etc., all of which can provide opportunities to explore microbiology in action. If children sometimes consider the present to be mundane, even boring, they are usually excited with both the past and the future so, where possible, visits to local museums (the past) and research institutions advancing knowledge frontiers (the future) are strongly recommended, as is a tapping into the natural enthusiasm of local researchers to leverage the educational value of excursions and virtual excursions. Children are also fascinated by the unknown, so, paradoxically, the invisibility of microbes makes them especially fascinating objects for visualization and exploration. In outlining some of the options for microbiology excursions, providing suggestions for discussion topics and considering their educational value, we strive to extend the vistas of current class excursions and to: (i) inspire teachers and school managers to incorporate more microbiology excursions into curricula; (ii) encourage microbiologists to support school excursions and generally get involved in bringing microbes to life for children; (iii) urge leaders of organizations (biopharma, food industries, universities, etc.) to give school outreach activities a more prominent place in their mission portfolios, and (iv) convey to policymakers the benefits of providing schools with funds, materials and flexibility for educational endeavours beyond the classroom.https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.13576 |
| spellingShingle | Terry J. McGenity Amare Gessesse John E. Hallsworth Esther Garcia Cela Carol Verheecke‐Vaessen Fengping Wang Max Chavarría Max M. Haggblom Søren Molin Antoine Danchin Eddy J. Smid Cédric Lood Charles S. Cockell Corinne Whitby Shuang‐Jiang Liu Nancy P. Keller Lisa Y. Stein Seth R. Bordenstein Rup Lal Olga C. Nunes Lone Gram Brajesh K. Singh Nicole S. Webster Cindy Morris Sharon Sivinski Saskia Bindschedler Pilar Junier André Antunes Bonnie K. Baxter Paola Scavone Kenneth Timmis Visualizing the invisible: class excursions to ignite children’s enthusiasm for microbes Microbial Biotechnology |
| title | Visualizing the invisible: class excursions to ignite children’s enthusiasm for microbes |
| title_full | Visualizing the invisible: class excursions to ignite children’s enthusiasm for microbes |
| title_fullStr | Visualizing the invisible: class excursions to ignite children’s enthusiasm for microbes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Visualizing the invisible: class excursions to ignite children’s enthusiasm for microbes |
| title_short | Visualizing the invisible: class excursions to ignite children’s enthusiasm for microbes |
| title_sort | visualizing the invisible class excursions to ignite children s enthusiasm for microbes |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.13576 |
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