Graduate students from the Public Engagement with Science Course partnered with Cincinnati Children’s Center for Pediatric Genomics and the National Human Genomic Research Institute (NHGRI) to produce informational panels (posters) for a local exhibit on the human genome. The project is based on the Smithsonian Genome Exhibition, which has recently developed the option of DIY exhibitions. Groups from around the country can access the Smithsonian panels and create their own accompanying panels for displays in their local communities.
The student group created two panels: the first panel talks about the differences between race, ethnicity, and ancestry and the second talks about the relation between environmental epigenomics and discrimination. The group collaborated with Dr. Tesfaye Mersha, a professor at Cincinnati Children’s and UC, on both panels.
This is part of an effort to educate and engage the public about genetics and the human genome, an aim shared by Cincinnati Children’s Center for Pediatric Genomics and the UC Center for Public Engagement with Science. The students who developed this project plan to work with Children’s to make these educational panels available to Cincinnati schools and to display them here at UC.
The panels, as well as instructions on how to create your own Smithsonian Genome DIY exhibit, are available at this website: https://cincinnatigenomicspanels.wordpress.com/.