Co-IMMUNICATE: A project communicating immunity to the community

What is the Co-IMMUNICATE project? We are a group of researchers and teachers in Glasgow working together to help our local communities understand more about respiratory viruses and how our immune cells defend us against them. Each spring we work with the P6/7 class at Anderston primary school in Glasgow to design new activities that help enthuse and explain what happens when people are infected with a respiratory virus. Our project 2020 was the first year of the project and focused on describing what viruses are and what happens when we get infected. We ran various activities include “making your own snot” and “flu whispers” aimed to increase the pupil’s knowledge on how flu spreads; the immune response against it; and how viruses change when they pass between different people. In 2021, we decided to run an online compacted version of the project to ensure the delivery was feasible due to COVID-19. The theme was communication between cells infected with a virus and immune cells. Each session had a short display of information via slides before fun interactive activities involving skittles and cuddly microbes aimed to help the pupils understand various steps involved in the immune response. Our App The co-IMMUNICATE App was planned as another fun and informative tool that uses a tablet to help the pupils and the broader community understand what happens after a respiratory virus infection. The app is designed by our collaborators at the Glasgow school of Art with illustrations and voice overs done by the Anderton primary pupils. This app has been fundamental in us engaging with the public at events including the Glasgow science festival. The future In 2023, we aim shift focus and ask the pupils themselves to design their own activities to help younger children understand more about viruses. These displays will also be presented at the Glasgow Science festival allowing the pupils the opportunity to directly engage with the community