Architects of the Parasite Pandemic Lizzy Durban (left) and Cecilia Nie (right) want to bring parasitology to life in their new escape room. Photo: Nicholas Ward.
The Parasite Pandemic is coming to Canberra, and locals can step up and try to stop it by taking part in an innovative escape room at the ANU this weekend.
‘A Race for the Antidote’ is an escape room experience pioneered by PhD students at the ANU as part of National Science Week, where participants will get to use real parasitology lab equipment to solve an impending parasite pandemic and save the world.
It’s been brought to life by PhD students Cecilia Nie and Lizzy Durban to raise awareness and educate people about the unique scientific field and its many myths.
Cecilia said that their goal was to show a fun side of research to attract people to learn more about parasitology.
“We want to show people the good side and the beautiful side of parasites, the fascinating side of parasites and bridge the gap between the general public and science,” she said.
Guests will have an hour to use a fully equipped physical containment room to solve puzzles based on how scientists actually tackle global challenges.
The pair are keen not to give too much away about the experience, but Cecilia said they wanted it to be similar to working in an actual lab.
“People get to use the actual equipment that you use in an actual laboratory setting. You get to wear lab goggles, gloves, use a microscope, use a pipette to transfer liquid and use petri dishes.”
Both PhD students agree that the escape room has been the fan favourite – they’ve already had to add extra places to events after almost booking out the whole weekend – but there’s more to the Parasite Pandemic.
As well as the escape room, guests can experience a Parasite Zoo, where they can view parasitic micro-organisms like malaria and Giardia, and a few macro-organisms as well.
A virtual reality experience will allow people to get close and personal to identify and avoid parasites in real-world situations from the safety of a lab.
A world of Manga characters aims to tackle common misrepresentations and misunderstandings surrounding the topic of parasites. According to the pair, parasites are often misunderstood.
Lizzy, whose primary area of study is Giardia, said that despite a public image of being solely harmful, there are a few unexpected benefits to humanity from parasites.
“Parasites have an image problem because when you think of the word parasite, you think of this greasy black leech with massive teeth,” she said.
“But actually, there are medicinal leeches that are used to improve blood flow, reduce blood clotting and they are used around the world.”
“There’s also evidence that hookworms can be used to help people manage their Inflammatory Bowel Disease or Crohn’s disease.”
Both students display an unbridled enthusiasm and passion when describing the study of parasites. They aim to encourage more people to pursue a career in the rewarding field.
The Parasite Pandemic Escape Room Kit is top secret until this Saturday. Photo: Nicholas Ward.
Cecilia said one of the best moments in her research was when she managed to make malaria – one of the deadliest parasites known to humans – glow.
“Something fascinating about malaria is that they are capable of infecting millions of people and causing a lot of deaths, which is really unfortunate, but I can make them glow in the dark.”
“We tag a green fluorescent protein and that makes them glow in the dark. By taking a lot of high-resolution images, we can see where the green localises, which indicates where our protein localises.”
Researchers hope the technique will allow them to more easily identify malaria’s weak spots.
Parasite Pandemic is part of National Science Week and is one of more than 150 activities held in Canberra between 9 and 17 August.
Across the week, Canberrans can experience everything from glass blowing in Kingston, a sci-fi film festival to pub talks, all part of National Science Week’s goal of making science accessible to everyone.
The Parasite Pandemic is on at the ANU on 9 and 10 August from 9 am to 3 pm. Bookings are free and can be made at Parasite.org.au.
Details of National Science Week’s 150+ events in Canberra over the week can be found at Science Week.
