Oct. 28, 2018
TELUS Spark Shoctober 2018 – You mite be scared this Halloween!
The world of parasites reveals the spookiness of nature, and when better to embrace and share this than during Halloween? The Host-Parasite Interactions (HPI) group displayed their own collection of tiny monsters to the little Count Draculas, dinosaurs and princesses who attended TELUS Spark’s Monster Mash up weekend during the Shocktober fest.
The HPI-TELUS Spark Halloween ‘Shocktober’ event, held on October 27th and 28th this year was the perfect way to introduce our group’s fascination for parasites to the public, and to raise awareness among the younger members of the community regarding the constantly evolving nature of parasites. The event was attended by a varied age group ranging from pre-schoolers to pre-teens, including their parents – everyone had something to learn from the HPI display.
It was fun to relate parasites to Halloween characters. The ticks resembled vampires, the worms were like ‘Frankensteins’ and the mind controlling parasites which can turn their hosts into zombies. As they peered into the lens of the microscope, there was great excitement amongst the younger audience members who had never used a microscope before. The preserved samples of botflies, ticks, tapeworms and roundworms were perfect to show the morphology of these parasites.
To make learning about the different parasites that infect our bodies a fun experience for the tiny tots that came to our display, we had an ‘Operations game’. The kids had to dexterously pick up parasites from our ‘sick’ cardboard cut-out of a person and try to guess what they picked out by looking at colorful cue cards kept around them.
The adults were amused, and many were impressed with the sheer ingenuity that some parasites displayed in their life cycles. The roundworm and tapeworm specimens were powerful reminders that undercooked meat and poor cooking hygiene can lead to their unwanted presence in anyone’s life.
It was inspiring to come across several curious minds and interesting questions about parasites This was a great learning experience for many of us HPI volunteers as well, as we were able to narrate cohesive stories about the life cycles and biology of the parasites we were displaying.
Ultimately, while the parasites we showed had an intrinsic ‘eew’ factor to them, the underlying theme of our event was of about the importance of scientific curiosity and the research we conduct on parasites and their interactions with their hosts. The enthusiasm that the volunteers, and especially Dr. John Gilleard and Dr. James Wasmuth showed during the event was contagious and was the pulse that carried the event through with undiminished energy. Thanks to all who came out on the weekend to volunteer and to Susan Wang, Chenhua Li and Adam Shute for leading this event. Here’s to many more fun events like this!