Back to Symposium home page 12th International Symposium on Bioluminescence & Chemiluminescence

Symposium abstracts:

Living light in schools and the public understanding of science

Campbell, Anthony K1,2

(1) The Darwin Centre and (2) AK Rainbow Ltd, Welston Court, Milton, South Pembrokeshire, SA70 8PS, UK

Bioluminescence is an inspiring natural phenomenon, always arousing curiosity in young and old alike. The Darwin Centre, with our spin-out company AK Rainbow Ltd, has developed education modules and kits based on bioluminescence. These are used by teachers and students to support the curriculum, and extra-curricula activities such as the UK national school project scheme – CREST. Bioluminescence can be used to explain classification and taxonomy, cell biology and cell signalling, biochemical catalysis, evolution, DNA and biotechnology. The module includes demonstrations for teachers, experiments for students and a booklet, including hot and cold light, various types of luminescence, chemi- and bio- luminescence, DNA, and how to find, and keep alive, living light. The module was used successfully at the DaVinci-Linnaeus-Darwin initiative PUSH meeting in Florence in November 2002, and has been evaluated by many teachers in Wales. The aim now is to enable teachers and students to communicate their experiences with bioluminescence by email or the web ( www.darwincentre.com and www.akrainbow.com). Living light has also been exhibited in Dr Darwin’s Curiosity shop at The Pembrokeshire Darwin Science Festival, and the Edinburgh Science festival. It will be on display at the Royal Society Summer Exhibition in London in July 2002. The ‘shop’ includes a large dark tent, enabling the public to see luminescence in its full glory. The Public understanding of science and health is perhaps one of the key issues of this new century. The inspiration teachers and students have gained from studying bioluminescence shows how vital it is that academia and industry interact with schools, and the public, to explain why and how scientists do what they do.

This is a preprint of an article accepted for publication in Luminescence: Copyright 2001 John
Wiley & Sons, Ltd (Wiley website)