PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
they love ‘gross’ and ‘mucky’, so the more microbiology the better.
Definitely not uncool Almost all the children are hugely engaging and will ask many questions. What subjects shall I take? What do I have to do at university? Why are you important? What actually is microbiology? The very few who stand and stare at me when I try to talk to them are my favourites. Yes, I realise how odd that may
sound. I am asking questions of four older teenagers, and they just stare at me. “So guys, what’s your interest today, science or engineering?” They just look at me. I start laughing and say “I am many things but telepathic is not one of them”. Eventually, one of the teenagers started to talk and suddenly I was not uncool anymore. The conversation began to flow, and we chatted for about 15 minutes. It’s a good job we did because the teenager’s sister was applying to university to study biomedical sciences,
and the degree wasn’t accredited. As they leave, the older lad leaned in and said “thank you Miss”; the teacher thanked me for pushing them.
Desires to be darker I also set up a display using tissue sections stained with haematoxylin and eosin (H&E), paraffin wax blocks and images of moles showing typical features of melanoma. It provided me with the ideal opportunity to get on my soap box about the dangers of indoor tanning. Amazing discussions ensued with the teenagers of all skin tones about their desires to be darker toned, about burning in the sun and about indoor tanning. Malignant melanoma is the fifth most common cancer in females in the UK, and
We talked all about muscle biopsies and how sections are cut, and the various stains used to identify different structures in, or components of, tissue. He looked at the sections under the light microscope and was able to put what biomedical scientists do into sharp contrast. He was able to see how his tissue might have been treated and what would have been done to it. He was excited by it all and decided that he would become a biomedical scientist in histopathology. There and then he became the latest and youngest eMember of the IBMS, aged 11.
Yes, they were real organs, and part of the amazing ‘operatingtheatrelive’ team.
people who start using sunbeds before the age of 35 have a 75% increased risk of malignant melanoma. The youngsters were genuinely stunned when they learned that the amount of ultraviolet A (UVA) produced by a sunbed could be 10–15 times higher than that from the midday sun, as they thought that using a sunbed would give them a ‘base’ tan, or would help them get vitamin D. By the time they left the IBMS stand they
had learned about the dangers of sunbeds and vowed never go near them, nor would they let their older siblings use them again.
Inspirational eMember A young boy who is into his biology came to the stand with his father, and we talked with them for at least an hour. The lad, who had recently had a diagnosis of a disease affecting his muscles, was in a wheelchair.
Hungry for biomedicine The four days were filled with science-mad kids all hungry for biomedicine, but many of them had never heard of biomedical scientists, nor did they have any idea about our diagnostic
services. They also learned that biomedical scientists and their support teams can be found in the Armed Forces, and in places such as Sierra Leone. It is vital that we exhibit at events such as BBF, as the youngsters need the information we can provide so that pathology does not remain a hidden service. As you might expect, the BBF is loud,
smells weird, and other exhibits are literally out of this world – Tim Peake called in from the International Space Station. It’s so fast- paced and you have to be ready to be asked anything and everything, and prepare to be exhausted. The entire team loved the experience, had an amazing time, and all promised to Big Bang again next year!
Sandra Phinbow is an IBMS National Council member.
Aged just six but he could ‘drive’ a microscope and knew words such as cells and nucleus. Occasionally it quietened down and everyone could take a breather. THE BIOMEDICAL SCIENTIST MAY 2016 255
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