In the next three years, the DNA Labs on the Road will collaborate with the Amgen Biotech Experience to educate Dutch high school students about biotechnology.
The ‘Reizende DNAlabs’ (DNA labs on the road) are mobile practicals that educate high school students about DNA, genes, genomics, and the latest research techniques. The project has been up and running since 2006 and over 200,000 high school pupils have already participated in the practicals. The project is supported by the DTL learning programme.
Pilot
In 2017, the DNA Labs received pilot funding from the Amgen Biotech Experience (ABE), allowing them to visit more Dutch high schools and organise the fifth National DNA Lab Day. The ABE empowers teachers to bring biotechnology into their classrooms, providing professional development for teachers and equipment for use in the classroom. The DNA labs on the Road and ABE have an identical goal: to attract high school children to science and to empower high school teachers.
Success
The pilot was a success and the ABE will thus continue its collaboration with and funding of the Dutch DNA Labs on the Road in the next three years. The ABE was already active in the United States, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. Now, the Amgen Foundation has announced to launch its ABE in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, the Netherlands, and Singapore. As a result, the ABE will reach nearly 900,000 high school students by 2020.
More information
- Read the Amgen press release.
- Read more about DNA labs on the road.
- Read more about the outreach activities of the DTL Learning programme.