Marvellous medicine challenge badge
Engaging young people about personalised medicine, drug discovery and development.
Dr Laura Randle and colleagues from the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at the Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology worked with members of Girlguiding.org to create a downloadable Marvellous Medicine challenge badge pack to engage young people with how medicines are produced alongside showcase their world-leading research.
The downloadable badge pack included activities such as 3Rs bingo, Pharma-inspired snakes and ladders ‘accept or reject’, personalised medicine sand art, bead polymorphisms, drug formulation, drug discovery maze, drug selectivity skittles, in vitro drug screening etc. which showcases the various stages of drug discovery and development.
PaT, their lab liverbird mascot guides participants through the badge pack which contain a complete set of instructions with pictures, templates and videos (where appropriate) alongside a lay overview of science behind each activity and ‘take this further’ website links. They have also included QR codes accessed videos (to meet the scientists and tours their labs and facilities.
The team are planning to host challenge badge day event during the autumn term with members of Girlguiding Merseyside, Wirral, Sefton and Cheshire Forest. The young people will move around different activity zones to complete the various activities in order to achieve the woven badge.
TOP TIPS
Have a realistic timescale: I under-appreciated the time required to brainstorm and research the sessions, order and prepare the resources and bring the relevant parties together in the University alongside teaching and research commitments.
Know your audience: One should also remember that school and youth groups do not meet over the summer when university staff typically have more time, which has hindered further testing at this time.
Go to them: I initially planned for the pilot testing groups to visit the University but it was logistically far easier for us to visit them.
Do you need branding? Whilst we have developed the badge with girlguiding members in mind and intend to share this resources with them, we did not have sufficient time to seek their branding approvals. The woven badge designed and made does not have girlguiding logos, however this does mean that it can be used more flexibly with schools and public audience. The badge pack can be adapted in future to make it suitable for schools.