Coloring books have enjoyed broad appeal and application since the 19th century. While not a new educational device, when applied to STEAM topics, it allows users to explore them haptically and in ways that mere words cannot convey. As part of the Aerobiome Team’s public engagement work at the Hénaff Laboratory for Living Interfaces, we designed coloring books to explain the environmental microbiome and its connection to the conditions people live in. Microbiomes are the invisible worlds that surround, interact with, and influence the lives of every living thing on the planet. Few realize that the world’s microbiome is also experiencing biodiversity loss. A loss that can significantly impact the world’s ecosystems and their neighborhoods.
In a recent hands-on workshop with the Fort Greene Park Conservancy, we created a modified version of this coloring book that served as an informational guide and lab notebook for the Green Team, “a diverse group of young people between the ages of 14 and 19 who spend their free time learning how to mitigate—and even potentially resolve—the environmental harms and public health risks to Fort Greene Park.” This presentation will discuss how these books were made, used, and served to promote the curiosity of community scientists and environmental justice advocates.