Science Bridge

Science Bridge Logo

Science Bridge is a mobile school and public laboratory that brings current molecular biological methods and facts to schools and makes them accessible to an interested public.

Science Bridge sees itself as a bridge between research and society and makes life sciences tangible for everyone. Science Bridge was founded in 1996, initially under the name MobiLab, by Wolfgang Nellen , Professor of Genetics at the University of Kassel. Science Bridge has been a non-profit organization since 2006. Science Bridge's main field of activity is to support schools with a range of sophisticated molecular biology experiments carried out by Science Bridge staff as part of full-day experimentation days in middle and high school classes. In addition to the student courses, Science Bridge offers accredited teacher training courses on current molecular biology topics and provides interested citizens with genetic engineering connections at public events .

concept

Science Bridge is a mobile laboratory . The course instructors - usually two research assistants - bring all the necessary materials and equipment with them to the courses, transforming every venue into a molecular biology laboratory within 20 minutes. Under the guidance of the course instructor, the course participants carry out the experiment independently, with a clearly structured script and a detailed picture presentation helping to convey the practical and theoretical content. Breaks resulting from the experiment are used for discussions and discussions.

Science Bridge and School

School assignments

The content of the experiments in the schools is adapted to the curricula of the middle and upper grades. So z. B. the genetic fingerprint , the identification of transgenic foods, the production of recombinant drugs and some cell biological experiments. A course usually lasts five to seven hours and is usually conducted in the classroom. The supervisors are students who are mainly involved in research projects as part of their master's, bachelor's, exam or doctoral thesis. The respect for scientific competence and the informal interaction with (almost) students of the same age create a productive working atmosphere. For some students, these courses offer help in making decisions about their future career choices. A student and teacher evaluation form ScienceBridge receives feedback on how well the students evaluate and teachers the course.

Teacher training

Science Bridge offers teacher training courses at least once a year and / or participates in teacher training courses from other providers. Most courses are accredited by the Office for Teacher Education.

Open laboratory

The open laboratory is a possibility for pupils, students and teachers to carry out experiments with different biological questions independently. The Science Bridge Laboratory can be used for this purpose. Science Bridge employees support the experimenters with the implementation.

Associated Schools

Since November 2011 the Herderschule Gießen and since May 2014 the Herderschule Kassel is a "satellite school" of Science Bridge. Both schools have set up safety level 1 molecular biology student laboratories in which established Science Bridge experiments are carried out.

Science Bridge and Public

Laboratory courses

In addition to school courses, Science Bridge offers one-day and multi-day laboratory courses for special interest groups and the general public. The aim is to make science transparent and understandable for laypeople, thereby enabling interested citizens to make knowledge-based decisions on scientific questions in society.

public events

Science Bridge participates in public events such as the " March for Science ", which was largely organized by Science Bridge in Kassel, the "Street of Experiments" in Giessen, the "Science Fairs" and the campus festival of the University of Kassel, etc. to gain insight to give into life sciences.

history

In 1996, Wolfgang Nellen, together with Jürgen Oberstraß and Michael Bonin, succeeded in realizing his idea of a mobile school laboratory, independently and without ministerial support: initially under the name MobiLab , the first teacher training courses and experimental days took place at some North Hessian schools.

In 1998 Michael Bonin managed to get a small grant of around 1000 DM for MobiLab from the BMBF in order to found the “Biotechnology Inventors Club” together with students from various Kassel schools. In the same year Jürgen Oberstraß and Michael Bonin took part in the Sciene4Life business plan competition with MobiLab and won a cuddly frog and 2,000 DM in the concept phase. MobiLab then refrained from further attempts to finance the project with funding. In the following years, MobiLab gained increasing attention, and with the help of a small group of students, 10 to 20 student courses per year were held in Hessian schools.

In 2001 Wolfgang Nellen received the Communication Prize of the Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology for his efforts to bring the biosciences to the public.

In 2002 MobiLab got into a critical phase because Michael Bonin could no longer commit himself to MobiLab for professional reasons. The savior in need was Jörg Klug (University of Giessen). Jörg Klug initially joined the "Teacher Training" working group of the Association of Biology, Biosciences and Biomedicine in Germany (VBIO) in order to do something specifically to improve science teaching. He recognized the sustainable potential of participation in the school laboratory for future teachers and increasingly involved teaching students in the courses. The student laboratory has thus made a considerable, albeit unofficial, contribution to teacher training to this day.

Also in 2002, MobiLab was renamed Science Bridge - the bridge between science, school and the public. Science Bridge has become an important part of the Hessian educational landscape and is financed primarily through course fees.

In 2005 Science Bridge submitted an application to the Robert Bosch Foundation as part of the NaT Working Program. The application was approved in 2006 with 63,000 euros and extended in 2010 with a two-year follow-up grant.

In 2006 the non-profit association Science Bridge e. V. founded.

In his inaugural address, the former Federal President Horst Köhler popularized the slogan Germany - Land of Ideas , to which the initiative of the same name, founded by the Federal Government and the Federation of German Industry, refers. Since then, an important part of this campaign has been the “Place of Ideas” competition, the Science Bridge e. V. organized 2007 for “Genlabor und Schule”, a network of approx. 40 life science-oriented school laboratories.

Science Bridge and its logo have been registered and protected as word and figurative marks at the German Patent and Trademark Office since 2008.

From 2010 to 2016 there was a collaboration with Febikon Labortechnik GmbH in Wermelskirchen to develop and manufacture easy-to-use test kits for schools.

Science Bridge has been providing financial support for three years from the University of Kassel and the sponsors of B. Braun Melsungen AG and Wintershall Holding GmbH since September 2015 . The cooperation project makes it possible for Science Bridge to continue even after Wolfgang Nellen has retired. The total amount of 90,000 euros is used to finance half a position for scientific coordination. The University of Kassel also provides the infrastructure and guarantees the scientific management by the Institute for Biology.

In 2018 Science Bridge acquired a public relations project funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) within the priority program 2141 to research various functions of the CRISPR-Cas system.

In 2018 Science Bridge raised around € 24,000 from the Joachim Herz Foundation to finance a cooperation project between science and art.

organization

Science Bridge is a non-profit, registered association. Members receive discounts on Science Bridge courses and have access to all teaching materials stored on the website. The board is elected every three years and is made up of scientists, teachers and students. Science Bridge has an advisory board made up of representatives from industry, schools, authorities and science journalism. Initially limited to three years (2015 to 2018), half a position for scientific coordination will be financed by the University of Kassel and the sponsors B. Braun Melsungen AG and Wintershall Holding GmbH. The sponsors have no influence on the content of the association's work.

Science Bridge eV has (as of 2018) 84 private individuals, eleven schools and one sponsoring member as members and, with a team of around 15 to 20 specially trained students led by doctoral researchers, conducts around 70 events a year and thus reaches around 1500 people.

Publications

Science Bridge publishes the laboratory page with tips and explanations on life science practice on a regular basis in the journal "Biology in Our Time".

As required, Science Bridge will speak out on current life sciences issues or be asked for comments by the scientific and general media.

Web links

Individual evidence

[1] University of Kassel Institute for Biology

[2] HNA search for traces in the sausage

[3] HNA students convict perpetrators in class

[Lehrer-4] HNA bio-experiments for everyone

[5] Taz Pastoral Experiments

[6] HNA "Fingerprint - crazy!"

[7] HNA 250 participants at "March for Science" at Bebelplatz

[8] Uni Kassel press release on March for Science

[9] VBIO Science for Schools: Sponsors secure Science Bridge of the University of Kassel

[10] DFG list of current priority programs SPP 2141

[11] BIUZ - Tags - handles for proteins

[12] Laborjournal - No Ge-CRISPR in the kit

[13] Joachim Herz Foundation - Awakening