Beyond the genome was developed for the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition in London to showcase how genomics is moving beyond the laboratory and into healthcare. The exhibit showed the history of DNA sequencing and the Human Genome Project with activities and objects to bring the old methods to life. It then introduced some of the recent research findings from the Sanger Institute and encouraged visitors to share their thoughts about how genomics may affect the future of healthcare and society.
Over 11,000 people visited the exhibition at the Royal Society in London over 7 days in July 2013. We asked visitors “Would you have your genome sequenced?” and had over 1,700 responses on the survey. There were over 83,000 visitors to the exhibition website and countless more people have enjoyed the exhibit since it moved to a permanent location on the Wellcome Genome Campus.
Over 70 researchers from the Campus were involved in developing the exhibit and went down to London to share their knowledge and research with the public. Many expressed a renewed enthusiasm for their research and a desire to be involved in other public engagement events.
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