The Center for Chromosome Stability at Copenhagen Culture Night
At the recent Copenhagen Culture night (13th Oct), members of the DNRF Center for Chromosome Stability (CCS) held an exhibition/minilab entitled ‘Oplev DNA /Experience DNA’. Twelve CCS scientists participated to guide members of the public through four activities, where they learned about DNA and chromosomes and their importance in human health.
The CCS researchers guided visitors through videos showing cells dividing and demonstrated how to observe chromosomes from human cells under a microscope. They also presented posters that described how DNA acts as a building block for life, how DNA is divided into daughter cells during cell division, and what happens when DNA replication or cell division go wrong and cause human disease.
Finally, the main event and highlight of the CCS exhibition was a hands-on practical experience, where members of the public were given the opportunity to do their own experiment and extract DNA from bananas. As seen in previous years, this activity was incredibly popular, which was a testament to the enthusiastic efforts of the CCS volunteers who educated, inspired and entertained in equal measure! Throughout the night, they attracted group after group of interested visitors and ultimately ran the exercise for more than 100 participants and many more observers across the course of the evening.
This was the 5th time that the CCS has held this minilab and it was estimated that, in total, around 300-350 people participated in the activities, chatted with CCS scientists and asked questions.
The CCS is very grateful to all the CCS members who volunteered to prepare and present this exhibition/minilab, their hard-work and enthusiasm made it a thoroughly enjoyable evening for all.
The CCS is also grateful to the visitors, whose interest, curiosity and enthusiasm has inspired the CCS members to continue pursuing biomedical questions that are relevant to human health and important to society.
The CCS looks forward to meeting more visitors at next year’s Culture Night.