"The time has come for the pirates to assemble. The gathering is set for all to know. Chart the maps and away we go! Ahoy!”

A neat chant that befits Pirates of the Caribbean. At least that’s what the kids imagined they were during the buccaneer-inspired 2005 Children’s Science Interactive Workshop (CSIW) held at La Vista Pansol, Calamba, Laguna last October 25-29.

Diligently organized by highly committed college students who belong to the Philippine Society of Youth Science Clubs (PSYSC), the said convention gathered eager elementary students from all over the country to take part in the five-day science interactive workshop carrying the theme Biotechnology: Blazing Beyond Borders. The workshops were creatively planned to tailor fit the subject of biotechnology to 326 kids and 76 teachers from 45 schools nationwide.

PSYSC members did very well to educate the young ones on biotechnology by integrating the topics into the games and activities that encourage interaction. This way, the highly technical subject of biotechnology becomes more interesting and digestible.

The vast subject on biotechnology was broken up into four major topics. Biotech 101 introduced basics of the science and highlighted the DNA structure in very simple and understandable terms. Invited as resource persons were Dr. Evelyn Mae-Tecson Mendoza of the Institute of Plant Breeding, and Dr. Ernelea Cao of UP Diliman. During the workshop, materials commonly seen in one’s daily life were used (plastic spoons, colored papers, calamansi, scissors,etc.) to explain to the kids what deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was all about. Also discussed was how DNA dictates a person’s traits such as eye color, height and tendencies to develop certain diseases.

The second topic was Biotechnology for Justice with Dr. Saturnina Halos as resource speaker who is a consultant at the Department of Agriculture (DA). It explained how biotechnology is used in enforcing the law or by simply bringing out the truth through DNA forensics.

The kids were also introduced how environmental and health threats from oil spills and contaminated lands can be fixed through bio-remediation in the topic Green Biotechnology. Dr. Louernie Fernandez De Sales of the UP Chemical Engineering Department shared her expertise in the said topic.

The fourth topic explored by the kids was Biotechnology for Life. Ms. Inez Ponce de Leon of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) explained how newborn screening can detect several inborn errors so as to be treated accordingly to avoid adverse effects in the infant’s later years.

The SEARCA BIC introduced a biotechnology board game called the ‘K-Quest’ which was co-developed with ISAAA. The game which is a hybrid of ‘monopoly’ and ‘snakesand-ladders’ aims to orient the players on the various stages of developing a biotechnology product including some safety issues to be addressed. The player who reaches the finish line wins. For BIC, it was a unique experience since much of its outreach activities were designed for adults.

PSYSC is the only national federation of youth science clubs in the country. Its thrust is to promote the public understanding of science, technology and environment. They have more than 100,000 active members nationwide. (Dione Christian Baracol)

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View article at BIOLIFE magazine