HUMAN GENOME PROJECT EDUCATION OUTREACH

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With its applications for genetic screening and recombinant pharmaceuticals, and its potential for use in gene therapy, the information obtained by the Genome Project will have a profound impact on public health. The long-term objective of this grant is to help enable the general public in San Francisco to make educated decisions on the personal, ethical, and social questions raised by the work of the Genome Project in medicine and other areas that will affect their lives. This objective will be achieved by an educational outreach program designed to provide the public with a basic, working understanding of the science behind, applications of, and ethical issues raised by the Genome Project. The educational program consists of four specific aims. The first aim is to develop and present in high school classrooms a curriculum consisting of laboratory experiments and "dry-lab" exercises using three-dimensional models that addresses the educational goals described above. The second aim is to reach members of the public outside the high schools by developing interactive exhibits and laboratory demonstrations about the Genome Project for use in a "hands-on" public science museum, The Exploratorium. The third aim is to increase the depth and range of public understanding of Genome Project-related subjects by providing lectures and discussions on a variety of topics of interest to groups including genetic disease support organizations, adult education classes, and high school and junior college students. The fourth aim is to demystify scientific research by bringing members of the general public into a working laboratory to talk with Genome Project scientists and to manipulate laboratory equipment in an interactive tour of the Human Genome Mapping Center at the University of California, San Francisco.