Exit The Ribosome

"Exit the Ribosome" is intended to provide an opportunity for laypersons to come into contact with a scientific topic in a playful way without inhibitions and at the same time a chance to communicate our scientific research to third parties. The scientific topic is the research field of ribosome synthesis, a process that is the basic for essential cellular processes taking place at the ribosomes, such as the production of proteins. In particular, we intend to prepare the topics of RNA transcription and protein translation in the form of an escape game. By involving pupils into the game development process, knowledge will already be imparted during the conception stage of the game. In addition, game educators will be involved in the development process (Ludothek Ludovico: Ludovico-Verein zur Förderung der Spielkultur, des Spielens und der Spielpädagogik). After completion of the game, also other schools (that were not involved in its development) will be provided access to the game, allowing biology teachers to integrate the game into their lessons. To optimally prepare the students for the task of development of the game, several preparative lectures will be offered by the scientists and science communicators involved in the project. These will communicate the topic adapted to the respective existing knowledge with the help of illustrative material (such as 3D models of ribosomal subunits). In addition to this theoretic background, Ludothek Ludovico will hold a workshop to provide students with input on game design. Thereby, possibilities for the realization of an escape game will be shown, and it will be explained how a topic can be prepared, by means of riddles, in order to anchor it in the game framework, as well as to guarantee knowledge transfer via the subsequent playing. The actual conception of the game will take place at the schools involved in the project, where students will convert topic-related teaching content into puzzles for the escape game. The students will work in small groups, each of which will be responsible for one teaching content. Throughout the concept phase, students will be in contact with scientists and science communicators through their respective educators and will receive assistance as needed. After completion of the individual puzzles, these will be combined into the complete game. Subsequently, all project partners will be involved in the game design and distribution. In parallel to the development of the escape game, a "protein biosynthesis" teaching module will be established in the Offenes Labor Graz (OLG), which, in combination with the escape game, will make the topic tangible as a hands-on laboratory experience. We believe that making scientific topics available as a game linked to current research will facilitate access to these topics for a non-scientific audience, make it low-threshold and enable the knowledge acquired to be anchored in the audience in the long term.

In the course of the "Exit the Ribosome" project, we developed an innovative board game that introduces students and scientifically inclined adults to a central cellular process: protein biosynthesis. The aim of the game is to foster a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms by which the genetic information encoded in DNA is translated into functional proteins. A standout feature of this project was the intensive involvement of the primary target group-students-in the conception and development of the game. After several workshops on the scientific background and on game design, students independently created puzzles on various aspects of protein synthesis during their biology classes. The topics included the organization of DNA, transcription (rewriting DNA into messenger RNA (mRNA)), mRNA processing through splicing, protein synthesis (translation), and the folding of newly synthesized proteins. These puzzles were then tested across different classes. In collaboration with game educators from the Ludovico association, the "Exit the Ribosome" project team selected and adapted the best puzzles. These were embedded in an exciting story that depicts the experiences of a research team at the University of Graz, which developed a groundbreaking enzyme, "Plasticase," and now aims to produce it on a larger scale. Together with Ludovico, a first prototype of the game was created and tested in schools. After further optimizations, the final version of the board game "Exit the Ribosome" was produced. The board game is available for loan to school classes and private individuals at the "Open Lab" of the University of Graz. The game can be played in two ways: either by a single group solving all the puzzles or in the "classroom mode," where multiple small groups divide the puzzles among themselves. The "classroom mode" is designed to be completed within a school lesson. In addition to the game rules, the game includes a booklet that clearly explains the biological process of protein synthesis. The prototype of the game has already been presented at two Ludovico game fairs (2022 and 2023) in Graz and at the European Researcher's Night 2023 in Graz. The final game is set to be presented at the European Researcher's Night 2024 and the Ludovico game fair 2024.