Education: Building Bio-Literacy
Our educational mission was to bridge the knowledge gap, making the complex concepts of synthetic biology and neurobiology accessible and exciting for a range of audiences — from young students to our university peers.
Outreach Education for Youth: Early Childhood Program
Early Childhood Outreach: My Busy Brain
At the Early Learning Center of Singapore American School, we conducted an early childhood outreach program. Using our original picture book called My Busy Brain and a short sing-along song called Busy Busy Brain of Mine, we introduced children aged 4-6 to brain activities, the reasons why every brain is different, and fundamental behaviors that support brain health. Through call-and-response, rhythms, and visual aids, the program aimed to interest children and help them grasp challenging ideas.


Why It Matters: Addressing Stigma and Access
We discovered from Singaporean families and community representatives that there are differences in access to information on brain health: stigma, language barriers, and scattered resources make it hard to know where to go or who to trust, especially for non-native English speakers and low-income families. Our Human Practices team responded by giving local language instruction from trustworthy community partners top priority. In order to make families feel active rather than afraid, the Singapore community practitioner specifically suggested neighborhood-based involvement, language proficiency, and resources that clearly explain findings.
That concept served as the inspiration for our preschool outreach, which includes a short interactive and original storybook and sing-along that provides an easy-to-understand and developmentally appropriate explanation of basic care procedures, brain function, and the causes of brain diseases. This approach highlights the importance of early, culturally relevant learning experiences in reducing stigma and building trust. Because the educational endeavor is grounded in our broader Human Practices mission of open communication and inexpensive, equitable design, communities may confidently engage with NeuroSplice and brain health long before any clinical decision points are reached.
Impact From Us: Creating Reusable, Trustworthy Resources
A comprehensive, kid-centered curriculum that could be taught in a nearby school was developed based on input from stakeholders. We developed and presented an interactive story with a sing-along in a preschool setting in response to a community representative's focus on local trust and unambiguous explanations. This way, families encounter brain health through familiar voices and routines.
Instead of using technical terms to describe "what the brain does," "how brains differ," and "how to care for your brain," we used short call-and-response lines, gestures, and drawings to help people retain the information. This directly reflects feedback to reduce intimidation and communicate through visuals and stories rather than jargon, and it now shapes how we build all kid-facing materials.
We also packaged the session for reuse: printable pages, a prepared storybook, and the sing-along lyrics with cues, so community partners can pick it up without extra training. This responds to requests for practical, ready-to-deploy resources that local educators can adapt to their own classrooms.
Impact On Us: Sharpening Communication Skills
Designing and delivering preschool outreach fundamentally improved how we communicate science. Explaining brain basics and feelings through images, movement, and music required us to replace jargon with concrete, age-appropriate narratives. That discipline has since shaped our slide decks, wiki copy, and public presentations, strengthening our ability to meet non-specialist audiences with clarity and care.
Feedback from teachers and families in Singapore also led us to systematize this approach. We developed a reusable outreach template with shorter segments, explicit “why this matters” moments, and simple take-home materials for caregivers to continue the conversation. Going forward, we will iterate on this format and evaluate understanding and comfort through brief reflections, ensuring warmth, accessibility, and trust remain central to all future engagements.