Public engagement with the 3Rs

Two teams from the Universities of Bristol and Dundee engaged almost 500 primary school children in the experiences of laboratory rodents, how staff refine their care and the connection between high standards of animal welfare and high quality research.

At events in Bristol, Dr Carole Furieux (Lecturer in Behavioural Physiology) and Dr Chris Handley (Named Veterinary Surgeon) explored the refinements found in a typical laboratory rodent cage. School children and families saw the world through the eyes of a rodent with a live video feed converted into ‘rodent vision’. Attendees were also challenged to identify smells as well as rats and mice and listened to ultrasonic vocalisations to learn how rats communicate. Appreciating how rodents rely on smells and sounds rather than sight allowed children to explore how mice and rats experience the world and consider how this could impact their welfare. For example, holding the red translucent tunnel from a laboratory rodent cage in front of the vision simulator, children saw these appear a dark brown/black to rodents. After discussing with staff how rodents are nocturnal prey animals, children made the link that these items support laboratory rodent welfare by providing dark, safe spaces that allow staff to see the animals without disturbing them.

“Experiential activities stimulated curiosity and questions about laboratory rodents, supporting engagement, reflection and meaningful discussion about how rodent housing can be refined based on their perceptions of the world.”

– Carole Furieux

At the other end of the UK, a team in Dundee ran workshops with primary school students with activity stands exploring rodent senses, communication, social behaviour and environmental enrichment, alongside replacement technologies. Sometimes the simplest activities can have the biggest impact, with a challenge for children to remove Velcro stickers from their own backs sparking conversations about the importance of grooming behaviours and social housing for rodent welfare. At the replacement stand, children observed wax moth larvae, Galleria mellonella, under the microscope and learned how Dr Daniel Neill uses this invertebrate model to replace mice in some of his infectious disease research. The team combined the expertise of researchers, animal facility staff and technicians, who found that children and young people were more open to discussions around animal use in research than they had anticipated and were keen to learn about efforts to improve their welfare and reduce and replace animal use. Building on their success and the resources they created for these workshops, the team are now planning a course of activities for secondary school students.

From under 10s to A-level students our public engagement awardees have introduced the 3Rs to students thinking about careers in science. We awarded Linda Horan (Manager of the Biomedical Procedures Unit at the University of Strathclyde) funding for students from local schools who would not normally have the opportunity to visit the animal facility. Students met scientists and animal technicians and experienced the 3Rs in practice. Scottish Highers students aged 16 to 18 toured the animal unit and learned about the day-to-day work of animal facility staff and scientists. In their feedback for the event, students highlighted enjoying seeing rats spending time in playpens and their interest in the chicken egg model used to replace mouse studies in cancer research. All of the students reported a better understanding of the use of animals in research after the visit and 90% said that they understood the importance of the 3Rs to improving research quality and animal welfare.

“The 3Rs were a completely new concept for people. We aimed to offer an understanding of what the 3Rs are, how each is central to the whole research effort, how they complement each other and contribute to improving research quality and animal welfare."

– Linda Horan

At a summer school aiming to inspire year 12 students to pursue STEM subjects, NC3Rs-funded PhD student Evgenia Maslova invited 40 A-level students into the Biosciences Teaching Labs at Brunel University for a workshop on using Galleria mellonella to replace mice in research on infection, immunity and wound healing. Students observed experiments using Galleria and had the opportunity to see and hold the wax moth larvae. These interactive elements gave students valuable insight into the work of researchers using replacement approaches. Evgenia also created a 3D printed Galleria model that shows the internal and external anatomy of wax moth larvae to bring to school visits, open days and science festivals, and designed a set of stickers to spread the word about the replacement potential of these larvae.

Many awards brought the world of research out of the lab, with hands-on activities generating discussion about efforts to replace, reduce and refine animal use. In Nottingham, Dr Nathan Carpentier and NC3Rs-funded PhD student Riba Thomas ran workshops in the city library and with local schools, exploring tissue engineering approaches that use complex 3D cell cultures to replace animal models. Led by a team of early career researchers from the University of Nottingham, 180 children aged 5 to 12 took part. Activities included making animal-free hydrogels from alginate – used to support cells grow in 3D structures – which replace hydrogels that are typically derived from mouse products. Children had the opportunity to step into the roles of scientists, using pipettes and cell culture dishes to mimic adding ‘cell growth media’ to imaginary experiments.

Dr Noemie Hamilton brought 3Rs research to life for children and families affected by leukodystrophies, a group of rare genetic disorders affecting the brain. Visitors at the AlexTLC (The Leukodystrophy Charity) patient community day were given the opportunity to simulate Noemie’s experiments which use zebrafish larvae (prior to independent feeding) to replace mice in research to develop new therapies. Visitors injected a 3D-printed plastic model of larval zebrafish with green liquid and watched it circulate around the model – replicating how scientists watch green fluorescent cells move around zebrafish larvae under the microscope. Visitors could also ‘have a go’ at getting a zebrafish ready for an MRI scan, putting a model of a fish into a bespoke chamber that Noemie has developed to scan live zebrafish. Her system refines and reduces the use of fish by avoiding the need to kill the animal for an MRI scan and allowing the same fish to be scanned multiple times.

“The patient community is well aware of research using animals to develop understanding of their diseases but the concepts of longitudinal studies to reduce animal numbers or refining protocols to improve welfare was not something they are familiar with."

– Noemie Hamilton

Dr Erika Kague developed a virtual reality experience exploring how she uses larval zebrafish to replace mice to study bone disease. Attendees at the University of Edinburgh open doors day were able to immerse themselves in real research images, zooming through fluorescent pictures of embryonic zebrafish to see developing neurones and bones. Erika and her team welcomed over 200 visitors, from young children to older adults, including those living with osteoarthritis. Since its launch the FishEye Reality experience has been visited by a further 700 people at this years’ Edinburgh Science Festival.

“People did not know zebrafish larvae have cartilage and bones and can be used to study osteoarthritis or that they can be visualised non-invasively, compared to invasive surgical procedures required to study bone/neuron/cartilage interaction in mice."

– Erika Kague

A number of our awards focus on generating reusable resources that can be used to communicate the 3Rs at future events and by others in the research community. Dr Jo Sharpe, whose postdoctoral research at the University of Sheffield was funded by the NC3Rs, has created a 'top trumps' style card game on the approaches scientists can use to replace animals in research. She has distributed printed packs free of charge to the life sciences community, so far sending cards to over 30 other researchers, institutions and schools in the UK, USA and France. They are being used by teachers, researchers, animal technicians and other scientific professionals to educate, engage and promote discussion about how scientists choose the best model for their scientific question and consider opportunities to replace animal use. Packs have been requested to use as part of GCSE biology lessons and workshops with school children, at a Parliamentary event to discuss the use of animals in research with MPs, to support the training of undergraduate biology and veterinary students, and at a number of university open days and science festivals. Jo provided guidance on how to use the cards at different types of events in an article in The Node, which was the most read item on the site the month it was published.

Dr Laura Randle has brought 3Rs advances in drug development to over 1,000 people (and counting!) while developing her ‘Marvellous Medicine’ challenge badge pack. Originally designed with Scouting and Guiding units in mind, the finished syllabus of resources will soon be available for schools, home education groups and science clubs around the country. Building on previous funding from the University of Liverpool, Laura has used her NC3Rs award to develop new activities that incorporate the 3Rs, visit primary schools, organise badge days for Scouts and Guides of all ages and meet families at engagement open days. The activities make the science of developing and testing new medicines accessible to young ages and introduce the 3Rs concepts and considerations, using personalised medicine sand art, polymorphism bead friendship bracelets, drug selectivity skittles, 3Rs bingo and a colour change experiment to simulate in vitro drug screening. Separate resource packs suitable for younger children (age 5 to 10) and older participants (age 10 to 16) will soon be available to download for free, containing full instructions with pictures, templates and videos, a lay overview of the science behind each activity and QR codes to access videos to meet the scientists and tour their labs and facilities.

Our public engagement scheme is open for applications of up to £2k from scientific professionals whose work advances the 3Rs, regardless of your role or funder. The funding is available as an open rolling call, with applications reviewed quarterly.

Our communications team are available to provide expert advice on how to make 3Rs advances accessible and engaging for public audiences and strategies to address sensitivities about animal research when sharing your 3Rs work. If you are planning a 3Rs public engagement activity in the next year, get in touch to discuss your ideas and get support to share your work with the public.

• Find out more about our public engagement award scheme.
• Read guidance for communicating 3Rs research for professional and public audiences.
• Learn more about our public engagement, outreach and communication activities.