However, first things first. On 13 June 2023, nearly 700 children gathered at the stadium of Łódzki Klub Sportowy [Lodz Sports Club] to recreate the course of the PCR reaction. The event was filmed using a drone. The material collected this way was used to create an educational video in which Krystyna Czubówna lent her voice to explain what the polymerase chain reaction is and how it is used. – PCR tests appeared in public awareness during the Covid-19 pandemic. Our intention is to show that PCR is a basic molecular biology technique and has a very wide application in science – explains Błażej Marciniak from the Biobank Laboratory. – We hope that the video will go viral and thus reach as many people as possible.
The video can be watched on the You Tube channel and on the University of Lodz's social media. We hope it will be widely distributed.
– adds Klaudyna Królikowska, a doctoral student at the Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection who is working at the Biobank Laboratory.
Non-obvious science and discovering what no one has discovered before are parts of the University of Lodz strategy – said Prof. Dr hab. Andrzej Kruk, Dean of the Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection during the official premiere. – Biobank Laboratory deals with such non-obvious science, but its employees also have a knack for doing non-obvious things on the border of science and pro-social activities. The premiere of this video is yet another example of such activities.
The work on the project took a year. During this time, the creators established cooperation with schools and worked on the script. In total, 13 primary schools, a kindergarten, a high school and a special educational centre (for visually impaired children) and over 40 volunteers were involved in the project.
The video is a non-standard presentation of something that we usually watch in the form of animation – adds Klaudyna Królikowska. – We have decided to involve hundreds of young actors in the project and show that learning can be fun, because as we know, knowledge is best acquired through play.
The official premiere of the video "FLASHMOB PCR". In the photo, from the left, the project creators: Błażej Marciniak, Klaudyna Królikowska and Monika Baranowska from the Biobank Laboratory. Photo: Natalia Naworska
The project involved teachers and students from:
School and Kindergarten Complex No. 1
Special Educational Centre No. 6
School and Kindergarten Complex No. 5
Righteous Among the Nations State Secondary School of the University of Lodz
Municipal Kindergarten No. 229
Our children took part in the project all year round, emphasises Teresa Dziubińska, Principal of the Municipal Kindergarten No. 229 in Lodz. – First, they participated in workshops prepared by scientists from the Biobank Laboratory, then the children came up with a script for the play, which they staged in the national Odyssey of the Mind competition, and finally, they took part in the video. The children had a great time and certainly learned a lot.
The event was possible thanks to the product support of partners and the personal involvement of teachers, students and volunteers. The partners of the campaign include: MAKIS, ŁKS, Kampania społeczna “Genetyka ratuje życie”, SeZOOnovo, Kofeina sp. z o.o. The project costs were partly covered by the funds from a project entitled: "Genomowa Mapa Polski w Otwartym Dostępie – digitalizacja zasobów biomolekularnych Pracowni Biobank UŁ" [Genomic Map of Poland in Open Access – digitization of biomolecular resources of the Biobank Laboratory of the University of Lodz].
Source: Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz
Text: Justyna Kowalewska (3PR)
Photos: Natalia Naworska