Superbugs: a pop-up science shop in the heart of Exeter 🛍️
A fun, hands-on event to engage children and their parents/carers with the world-leading research on antimicrobial and antifungal resistance conducted at the University of Exeter
Bacterial and fungal pathogens are a major threat to human health. Fungal infections are often overlooked and misdiagnosed, and they can pose a deadly threat, especially to people with compromised immune systems. Fungal infections kill over 1.5 million people every year and that number is growing.
The increasing presence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in both bacteria and fungi is reducing the number of medicines available to treat these infections. There are currently only four classes of antifungal drugs available, making treatment failure a huge concern for researchers and doctors. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared AMR to be one of the top 10 global public-health threats facing humanity.
To raise awareness of AMR, researchers from the University of Exeter ran a public engagement event to highlight this global threat and to promote the work they are doing to fight these infections. On the weekend of 18-19 February 2023, Make Tank in Exeter town centre was transformed into ‘Superbugs: a pop-up science shop’. Filled with microscopes, agar plates cultured with a variety of microbes, craft activities and games, Superbugs was a journey into the microscopic world of bacteria and fungi. After exploring the microscopic world, visitors were also introduced to AMR through a series of games and activities.
We had a fantastic weekend, with just under 1,000 visitors through the doors of the shop! Popular activities included the craft station to create your own microbe, and the ball pit to show how testing and discovering new medicines to treat bacterial and fungal infections works. Visitors also enjoyed swabbing their hands, phones, earbuds, amongst other things, onto agar plates and these were incubated for several weeks to see what grew. The results were… interesting!
We would not have been able to deliver this event without the support of our fantastic team of volunteers, who all worked tirelessly to engage children and adults with the activities.
Catrin Williams (MRes Medical Mycology and Immunology), volunteered at Superbugs Exeter, and previously attended the first event in Cardiff:
“Having completed my degree and now being a master’s student, the opportunity to volunteer at a Superbugs event in Exeter excited me. I was keen to play a part in giving others the inspiring experience that I enjoyed. It was great to see how all ages interacted with microbiology, especially how children post-pandemic related their experiences to the activities at the event. The children grasped core concepts of microbiology and antimicrobial resistance with amazing speed, questioning how their learning at other stands related to different fungal and bacterial pathogens. I found the event hugely enjoyable and rewarding. I highly recommend getting involved if given the chance!”
