At Team Crouton, we believe that science is for everyone—regardless of age, language, educational background, or prior exposure to synthetic biology. Our inclusivity efforts were woven into every aspect of our educational outreach, with the goal of removing barriers to participation and ensuring that diverse voices are heard and valued in the scientific conversation.

We focused on three key dimensions of inclusivity:

• Age: Tailoring content for children, teens, adults, and seniors
• Language: Providing multilingual materials and platforms
• Accessibility: Adapting delivery methods to fit different learning styles and physical settings

We recognized early on that lack of prior knowledge, language barriers, and age-appropriate content were major obstacles to engaging the public in synthetic biology. To address this, we:

• Conducted pre-activity surveys and informal interviews to gauge baseline understanding
• Observed engagement patterns during lectures and adjusted in real-time
• Collected post-event feedback to identify gaps in comprehension or accessibility

For example, during our Silver Science Workshop for seniors, we learned that many elderly participants had never heard of synthetic biology and found scientific jargon intimidating. This led us to reframe concepts using everyday analogies (e.g., comparing synthetic biology to “designing containers for specific uses”).

A. Age-Inclusive Outreach

B. Language & Cultural Inclusion

• Multilingual Materials: We translated our educational comic, The Scooba Scrubbers and the Chromium Crabs, into Chinese, English, and Spanish, and shared it on Instagram and RedNote.
• Bilingual Social Media: All posts on Instagram and RedNote were published in both Chinese and English to reach local and international audiences.

• Podcast Collaboration: We co-produced a podcast with another iGEM team, discussing heavy metal pollution in both Chinese and English, and translated it into 8 languages.

C. Platform Diversity

We used a mix of online and offline channels to reach people where they are:

• Online: Instagram, RedNote, Bilibili, TikTok, WeChat emojis
• Offline: School lectures, community booths, nursing home visits, lab tours

We prioritized two-way communication in all our activities. Examples include:

• Post-Lecture Feedback: After each session, we asked participants to rate and comment on the content. We used this feedback to improve future sessions.
• Community Q&A: During the South Hongcao Road community event, we answered residents’ questions about heavy metal pollution and its impact on children’s health.
• Intergenerational Exchange: At the nursing home, elders shared stories about historical pollution in Shanghai, which we integrated into our narrative.

✅ Outcome: This dialogue helped us reframe scientific content to be more relatable and actionable for each group.

For more details, please refer to our education section

We have carefully documented our inclusive strategies so that other iGEM teams or educational organizations can adapt them:

• Structured Activity Plans: Each lecture and workshop was outlined with clear learning objectives, audience profiles, and adaptable materials.
• Multimedia Archives: All presentations, comics, podcasts, and video tutorials are archived and publicly accessible.
• Feedback Integration Process: We documented how we used participant feedback to iteratively improve our outreach.

🔗 See our  Education section for downloadable resources.

Through our inclusive approach, we learned that:

• Relatability is key: Whether through comics, historical references, or hands-on experiments, connecting science to lived experiences builds trust and engagement.
• Feedback loops matter: Continuous input from participants helped us break down barriers we hadn’t initially recognized.
• Inclusion is intentional: It requires actively designing for diversity—not as an afterthought, but as a core principle.

We are proud to have created multiple entry points into synthetic biology for people of all ages and backgrounds, and we hope our work inspires others to build science communities that are truly for everyone.