Edinburgh Cancer Research

Over 200 visitors at the IGMM Open Day

The MRC Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine opened its doors to the public for the second time on September 23, welcoming 232 visitors: September 2017

Visitors of all ages enjoyed seven highly interactive science activities that included hooking ducks, crafting DNA bracelets, targeting the lung with handmade gene therapies and looking at cells under a microscope.

The science wasn’t the only thing that fascinated participants, however, as due to high interest, the five planned building tours had to be supplemented with nine additional tours to accommodate the 81 visitors eager to see and learn more about the IGMM.

Supplementing the tours, visitors could also watch videos presenting the Institute, including the premiere of the brand new “Behind the Scenes at the IGMM” video.

The lecture theatre also hosted presentations from IGMM researchers, giving visitors a window into the lives of scientists at various stages of their careers. Phil MacDonald, the architect who was in charge of creating the new IGMM building, spoke about the challenges and opportunities presented by this task, and his talks fuelled great questions and conversation with his audience.

The wonderful, positive feedback from visitors showed that they really enjoyed all of the diverse activities, loved the building tours and left inspired by the science research.

“We dropped in for 10 minutes but stayed for hours!” said one visitor.

Sincerest thank you to the volunteers, their enthusiasm was infectious and Doors Open Day would not have been possible without them. Thanks to their efforts, one group of visitors left the following comment:

“Wonderful building, great fun activities, enthusiastic staff. We loved every minute.”

 

IGMM doors open 2017
IGMM doors open 2017