Mobile Labs to schools

The DNA Labs on the Road establish a bridge between education and the latest scientific insights. Under the leadership of Wageningen University, hey are developed by Dutch universities and economic centres. Research assistants from five universities, namely Delft, Leiden, Nijmegen, Utrecht and Wageningen, use these labs to expose pupils in the upper forms of advanced secondary education to various perspectives of DNA research.

In the laboratories, pupils carry out practical experiments using advanced technologies that are generally not available at schools. The five different subjects each provide fascinating insight into how knowledge of the molecules in a cell plays a major role in society. And it shows that scientific progress raises social questions. Each of the DNA Labs is supported by teaching material on the social context of DNA research. This class is given by the school teachers.

CSG coordinates and finances the Mobile DNA Labs. The educational quality of the labs will be further improved in 2009 and 2010, with further steps taken to improve embedding in school programmes. A sixth, forensic DNA Lab will be developed together with the Forensic Genomics Consortium Netherlands. Each of the five participating universities is associated to a genomics centre: