What exactly do bacteria do? And why are they important for our health and food? With the project Ferme Scholen, researchers from the University of Antwerp invite secondary school students to find out for themselves. Throughout the school year, students from more than twenty schools worked hands-on with fermentation. They made products such as sauerkraut or kimchi and learned how bacteria drive these processes. On Wednesday 6 May, around 200 students came together at Campus Groenenborger for a science event, where they discovered the results of their own experiments.
Getting to know microbes up close
With Ferme Scholen, researchers Katrien Michiels and Wannes Van Beeck aim to strengthen knowledge of microbiology among secondary school students and teachers. They do so through fermentation: a simple way of preserving food, in which microbes change the taste, structure and acidity of vegetables (such as kimchi or sauerkraut) or dairy products (such as yoghurt or kefir). It is an accessible and safe way to explore how microbes can have a positive effect on their environment.
An increasing number of studies confirm the importance of a healthy microbiome: the collection of micro-organisms that live in and on our bodies, such as bacteria, fungi and viruses. 'The term appears more and more often in the news and is also finding its way into school curricula,' says Wannes Van Beeck, a microbiologist affiliated with LAMB (Faculty of Science).
By experimenting themselves, students experience how microbes work and the role they play in everyday applications such as food.
We tend to try to eliminate bacteria. That reflex is understandable: research long focused on their negative impact. But not all bacteria make us ill, some are indispensable for our health.
From classroom experiment to lab analysis
In the classroom, students carry out their own fermentation experiments with vegetables and take samples. These samples are sent to the microbiology laboratory at the University of Antwerp, where researchers use DNA techniques to investigate which bacteria are present and how they interact.
This approach creates a close link between education and research. Students become familiar with scientific methods, while their samples also contribute to ongoing research at the university.
Teachers play a key role in this process. They work with a structured protocol, but are free to shape the experiments within their own lessons.
First steps as a researcher
The final event at Campus Groenenborger was designed as a real scientific conference. Students attended a lecture on microbiology by Sarah Lebeer (LAMB, Department Bioscience Engineering), took part in workshops about microscopy and fermentation, and visited a laboratory.
Just like at an actual conference, they presented their work in the form of posters. A jury awarded the best submissions. In this way, students took their first steps as researchers and learned how scientific insights are shared.