Education & Communication

1. Board Game

One of our most creative educational tools for children was the board game “Chitin Mission”, a playful adaptation of the classic Snakes & Ladders. We designed it to introduce young audiences to the world of chitin in a way that was simple, colorful, and fun. Instead of math problems or complicated scientific terms, the board was filled with short questions and prompts: “Where do we find chitin?”, “Name one insect with a shell”, “Can chitin be recycled?”, “What do plants need to grow?”. Alongside these, there were bonus squares like “You found a chitinase – skip ahead two spaces!”.

The game turned biological facts into little surprises, making learning feel like play. We played Chitin Mission with children both at the Summer Camp of the Laboratorium in Alexandroupolis and during the CityLab open day, where kids of all ages could join in. In both settings, the response was unforgettable: the children laughed, shouted answers with excitement, helped each other, and celebrated every small victory on the board.

For them, the game was more than a way to pass the time; it was a journey into science disguised as play. The aim was clear: to show children that science is not something distant or difficult, but something they can touch, play with, and enjoy. By rolling dice and moving their tokens forward, they were also moving closer to understanding how chitin connects the sea, the soil, and the plants around them.

The children loved it so much that we didn’t only play it together, we also shared it as a printable version, so they could take it home, play again with friends or family, and keep science alive beyond the walls of the lab.

For us, Chitin Mission became a symbol of what education should be: accessible, joyful, and filled with curiosity. Through a simple board game, we transformed knowledge into adventure and planted the idea that science is not just for scientists; it belongs to everyone, even the youngest explorers.

2. Comic Book

One of the most enchanting creations of our team was the comic strip “Chiti & Enzy Save the Day!”, a story that brought science to life in the form of a fairytale. We wanted children not only to hear about biology, but to feel it, to imagine it as an adventure unfolding before their eyes.

The tale begins deep in the sea, where Chiti the Shrimp carries a strong, shiny shell made of chitin. But when the shell breaks, Chiti feels sad and lost: “Oh no, my shell is waste now… what will happen to it?”. Just then, a new friend appears! Enzy the Bacterium, small but full of energy and joy. With a bright smile, Enzy reassures Chiti: “Don’t worry, I have magic scissors-enzymes that can cut chitin!”.

With a cheerful snip, snip!, the waste begins to change. The once forgotten shell is transformed into tiny pieces that the earth can welcome as food. The ground drinks in the pieces of chitin, and soon the grass grows greener, flowers bloom brighter, and a strong tree rises toward the sky. The message is clear: nothing in nature is ever truly wasted.

We shared this story during the Summer Camp at the Laboratorium in Alexandroupolis and at our CityLab open day, where children gathered to follow the adventures of Chiti and Enzy. They leaned in close to see the colorful panels, laughed at the funny characters, and repeated the lines out loud as if they were part of the story themselves.

Some saw themselves in Chiti, afraid of being left behind. Others loved Enzy, the tiny hero who could make a big difference. Together, they learned that science can be playful, kind, and full of wonder.

For us, Chiti & Enzy Save the Day! became more than just a comic. It became a bridge between knowledge and imagination, between science and childhood wonder. It showed that even the most complex ideas can be told as simple stories, and that by planting these seeds early, we nurture not only curiosity but also a sense of belonging in the world of science.

3. Summer Camp Laboratorium

This summer, for three magical weeks, our team became part of the Summer Camp at the Laboratorium Alexandroupolis, a place where science and imagination meet. Every day the doors opened to welcome children between the ages of five and twelve, and the quiet spaces of the lab filled with voices, laughter, and the kind of curiosity that only children bring.

Together we rolled dice and played our board game, opened our comic book with excitement, and looked through microscopes where hidden kingdoms were revealed. Children asked endless questions: “Why does it change color?”, “Can bacteria be heroes?”, “What if we mixed this and that?”. Every question was like a spark that lit up the room.

One of the most magical evenings was the astronomy night organized by the Laboratorium. Under the summer sky, with the sound of the sea in the background, we joined the children and their families on the shore. Together we traced constellations above us and spoke of the hidden life of the sea below; shrimp, marine creatures, zoology, biodiversity, and their connection to our project.

That night, and throughout the camp, the Laboratorium became more than a place. It became a fairytale, where microscopes revealed invisible kingdoms, where board games turned into quests for knowledge, and where the sea and the stars told their stories alongside ours. For the children, it was perhaps the beginning of a lifelong love for science.

4. Podcast: The Story of Chitin

Among the episodes of our podcast series, one stood out as a storybook come to life: The Story of Chitin. This was not a lecture, nor a lesson, it was a fairytale told through sound, crafted especially for children.

The story began by the sea. Waves rolled gently, and from their foam emerged the shells of shrimp and crabs, ordinary things, often tossed aside, but in our tale they held a secret. We asked listeners to imagine these shells as tiny travelers, starting a long voyage across the world. As the children followed, the shells slowly changed shape, becoming part of the soil, feeding plants, and bringing green back to the fields.

Through playful narration, chitin became a character of its own, a bridge between the ocean and the earth, between waste and life. The children learned, not through explanations, but through pictures painted in their imagination: a shell dissolving into the soil, a seed sprouting, a garden blooming.

By the end of the episode, children were not only entertained, they were inspired. They discovered that science is not locked in laboratories, but exists all around them: in the sand beneath their feet, in the food they eat, in the plants that grow in their gardens.

This podcast was more than just an episode, it was an invitation to dream, to see biology not as a subject, but as a story unfolding in the world around us. The Story of Chitin showed that science can be magical, alive, and full of endless possibilities.

1. Participation in the 4th Panhellenic Student Conference of Biosciences – March 2025

In March 2025, our team proudly participated in the 4th Panhellenic Student Conference of Biosciences (ΠΦΣΒ), one of the largest and most inspiring student-led scientific gatherings in Greece. This national conference brought together hundreds of students, professors, and invited speakers from across the country, creating a vibrant space where scientific ideas met collaboration and creativity.

For us, the conference was much more than a presentation. It was the first time we unveiled our project “Chitinator et al.” in front of a wide and diverse scientific audience. Standing among fellow students, professors, and professionals, we shared our vision of transforming chitin waste into a sustainable bio-activator for agriculture. The response was overwhelming: we received extensive feedback from professors of different disciplines, invited experts, and fellow participants, who challenged our ideas, suggested improvements, and highlighted new perspectives that we had not considered before.

The conference also served as a meeting point with the wider Greek iGEM community. We had the chance to meet and connect with other iGEM teams, exchange experiences, and discuss the unique scientific challenges each of us faces. These conversations not only gave us new insights into our own project, but also reinforced a sense of unity, that we are part of a much larger movement of young scientists pushing the boundaries of synthetic biology in Greece.

Some of our members were also part of the organizing committee, helping shape the event from behind the scenes and gaining a deeper appreciation for the work required to bring together such a diverse scientific community. Walking away from the 4th ΠΦΣΒ, we did not just carry feedback notes and contact lists, we carried inspiration. The constructive criticism and encouragement we received acted as a compass, guiding us in refining our experimental design, strengthening our scientific approach, and broadening the potential impact of our project.

For our team, the 4th Panhellenic Student Conference of Biosciences was a milestone: a celebration of science, collaboration, and the power of student-driven innovation.

2. iGEM Codex Vitae Roundtable at the Hellenic Society of Biological Sciences (ΕΕΒΕ) Conference

At the annual conference of the Hellenic Society of Biological Sciences (HSBS), our team took a bold step forward in science communication and community building by organizing a roundtable on synthetic biology. Spearheaded by our team leader, the event carried the theme “Synthetic Biology: Reshaping the Future, One Team at a Time.”

The roundtable brought together members of the Greek iGEM community in a vibrant discussion about the role of synthetic biology in addressing modern challenges. While all Greek iGEM teams were invited, in the end, our close collaborators from iGEM Ioannina joined us at the table. The exchange was nothing short of inspiring: each team had the chance to present their project, share their vision, and highlight the challenges and breakthroughs that defined their journey.

For our team, it was a milestone moment. We presented “Chitinator et al.” not only as a scientific project, but as a vision for a sustainable bio-based future. The roundtable offered us a unique opportunity to receive targeted feedback from two distinguished scientists, experts in the field of synthetic biology and molecular biology, whose insights challenged our perspectives and opened new directions for our experimental design and application strategy.

Beyond the roundtable itself, we immersed ourselves in the wider conference experience, attending keynote lectures and poster sessions that resonated deeply with our project’s scope. In particular, we explored posters related to microbial biotechnology and bio-based solutions, which offered practical parallels and fresh ideas for improving our approach.

What made this event truly powerful was not only the scientific dialogue, but also the sense of community it created. In that room, we felt connected to something larger than ourselves: a movement of young scientists and mentors working together to reshape the future of biology. The ΕΕΒΕ roundtable stands as one of the highlights of our year; an event where science, collaboration, and vision came together, leaving us more motivated than ever to continue our work and contribute to the advancement of synthetic biology in Greece.

3. Social Media Outreach

Our educational efforts did not stop at conferences and roundtables; they continued every single week through our social media presence. Platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn became classrooms without walls, where we could meet university students exactly where they are. Most of our posts were designed with a uni-level audience in mind. We took complex ideas from molecular biology and synthetic biology and translated them into engaging, student-friendly stories.

Through series such as Meet the Microbes, Molecular Techniques Thursdays, and From Waste to Wonder Mondays, we built a narrative that not only explained our project, but also connected it to the wider scientific world. This was more than just content creation; it was about building a community. Students interacted with our posts, asked questions, and even shared their own perspectives. In many ways, social media became a digital extension of our education strategy, allowing us to reach far beyond the walls of the lab or the conference hall.

To explore more about our online campaigns and the creative ways we engaged with the public, visit the Communication section.

4. Educational Podcasts

We brought our project beyond the lab bench and into students’ headphones. From the start, our goal was simple: turn complex synthetic-biology ideas into clear, compelling stories for a university audience, the peers most likely to join, question, and improve the science with us. These episodes became our moving classroom: an honest, conversational space where we unpacked iGEM, our choices, and the science behind Chitinator et al.

Episode 1: What is iGEM?

We opened by demystifying iGEM, not as a competition with deadlines, but as a framework for learning by building. We walked listeners through the engineering design cycle, safety and ethics, open science, and what it feels like to run an iGEM team from the inside: juggling wet-lab and dry-lab, human practices, and community outreach.

Then we connected the dots to our own journey: why we chose iGEM as the right arena for tackling waste valorization and sustainable agriculture, and how a student team at Democritus University of Thrace can contribute to real-world solutions. By the end, listeners didn’t just “know” iGEM; they could picture themselves inside it, seeing where their skills fit and why this community matters.

Episode 2: From Chitin to BioActivator

Here we zoomed into the science. We started with chitin, what it is, where it’s found (crustacean shells, insects), and why unmanaged chitin waste is an environmental and economic problem. From there, we introduced our solution: a fusion-enzyme BioActivator (endochitinase + exochitinase, linked for cooperative action) designed first for expression and testing in E. coli, with a clear path toward Bacillus subtilis for future deployment.

We described our planned assays and decision-making: how wet-lab experiments and dry-lab modeling inform each other, how we evaluate activity on chitin substrates, and how results would shape iterations. Most importantly, we framed the impact, closing loops in the bioeconomy and supporting crops (e.g., garlic) with a biologically derived input rather than a purely chemical one.

The episode invited students to think like engineers and biologists at once: define the problem, build the tool, test, learn, refine.

1. CityLab: When the City Entered Our Laboratory

One of the most unforgettable milestones of our educational journey was CityLab, an evening where science broke free from its boundaries and welcomed the city into our laboratory. We threw the doors wide open, and people of every background, like students, teachers, families, and curious citizens, poured into our space, eager to see what happens behind the closed doors of research.

From the very first moment, the atmosphere was electric. The lab, usually quiet and precise, buzzed with conversations, laughter, and the kind of curiosity that only grows when discovery is shared. Our benches were transformed into interactive stations, each one designed to tell a different story about biology:

• Microscope station: Visitors leaned over lenses to discover hidden worlds, cell structures, microbial colonies, and the intricate details of life invisible to the naked eye. Gasps of surprise and excitement spread every time someone whispered, “I can actually see it!”
• Separation and purification corner: We guided participants through simple yet powerful experiments that revealed how scientists can untangle the invisible components of mixtures. For many, it was the first time they saw science as a puzzle they could solve.
• Spectacular demonstrations: Color changes, reactions, and hands-on experiments made even the most abstract molecular concepts come alive. People didn’t just watch science happen; they touched it, asked about it, and made it their own.

The turnout exceeded every expectation. The room was alive with energy, filled with people of all ages sharing the same sense of wonder. University students exchanged thoughts with high school pupils, professors chatted with families, and complete strangers left the lab as friends, connected by the spark of curiosity. For us, CityLab was not just an event; it was a celebration of what science can be when it is open, shared, and lived together. That evening, the city didn’t just visit our lab. The city became part of it.

2. Podcast for the General Public: Synthetic Biology in Everyday Life

For the final episode of our podcast series, we set ourselves a special challenge: to make synthetic biology not just understandable, but relatable to everyone. This was our chance to step outside the walls of academia and invite the general public into a conversation about how science is quietly shaping their daily lives.

We began with a simple question: Where do we encounter biology in our everyday routines? From the food on our tables to the clothes we wear, from the energy that powers our homes to the materials that surround us, biology is already present, but synthetic biology is giving it new meaning. In this episode, we painted vivid pictures of possible futures:

• How bio-based materials could replace plastics and reduce our dependency on fossil fuels.
• How microbial factories are already producing medicines, enzymes, and sustainable materials that people use without even knowing their origin.
• How synthetic biology in farming is helping to design smarter, more sustainable ways of growing crops, using fewer chemicals while protecting soil and water.
• How the tools of biology are being used to combat pollution and climate change, turning challenges into opportunities for renewal.

Rather than listing facts, we wove stories. We compared plastic bags with biodegradable alternatives made from microbes, linked the story of traditional farming to the promise of engineered biofertilizers, and showed how innovations once hidden in laboratories are now entering supermarkets, hospitals, and households. We wanted listeners to see synthetic biology not as a distant science, but as a quiet force already shaping their present and future.

The tone of the episode was conversational and imaginative. We invited listeners to picture their own lives through a new lens: what would their community look like if waste could be transformed into resources, if farming was entirely sustainable, if everyday objects were produced by biology rather than petroleum? These weren’t abstract visions, they were windows into transformations already underway around the world.

Above all, this podcast was about demystifying science. We wanted to dissolve the invisible barrier between “scientists” and “society” by proving that synthetic biology belongs to everyone. It is not a language spoken only in research papers, but a story that can be told around a dinner table, in a classroom, or during a casual evening walk with friends. With this final episode, we hoped to spark more than curiosity. We hoped to ignite a sense of belonging, so that every listener, whether or not they had ever set foot in a laboratory, could walk away thinking: “Synthetic biology is not just their science, it is my future, too.”

3. Webinar with American Space Xanthi – AI and Synthetic Biology: Shaping Tomorrow

Our third major action for the general public, and one that could just as easily belong in the university-level category, was an internationally flavored webinar co-organized with American Space Xanthi. American Spaces are learning and innovation hubs supported by the U.S. Department of State, designed to foster STEM education, innovation, entrepreneurship, and cross-cultural exchange. Specifically, American Space Xanthi, located in the city’s Cultural Center, is supported by the U.S. Embassy in Athens and the Municipality of Xanthi. It has quickly become a focal point for young people interested in robotics, networking, creative entrepreneurship, and cutting-edge science.

In collaboration with this dynamic institution, we organized a webinar on Artificial Intelligence and Synthetic Biology, a bold attempt to merge two of the fastest-growing scientific frontiers. The event attracted not only university students but also members of the wider public, eager to understand how biology and AI are converging to reshape the future.

During the webinar, our team introduced the principles of synthetic biology, explaining how the field empowers us to reprogram living systems for medicine, agriculture, and sustainability. At the same time, we showcased the role of AI in accelerating discovery; from protein modeling to genetic circuit design, bridging the gap between computation and the living world. The discussion was enriched by real examples:

• How machine learning is being used to design new biomaterials and optimize biological processes.
• How the combination of biology and AI is unlocking solutions to global challenges in food security, climate resilience, and environmental protection.

The webinar ended with a lively Q&A session, where participants asked questions ranging from the ethics of AI-driven genetic engineering to the real-world applications of bio-based technologies. What stood out most was the sense of engagement and curiosity, proof that even complex topics, when framed through storytelling and interaction, can become accessible to everyone.

For us, this collaboration was a milestone. By joining forces with American Space Xanthi, we connected synthetic biology with the broader themes of innovation, entrepreneurship, and societal change, making the conversation not just about science, but about the future we are all building together.