The Science of Medicines – adapting to COVID-19
Ākonga demonstrate hands-on games and explain how the games helped them learn about the role of vaccines in protecting people and their communities.
Questions for discussion
What games were adapted to create COVID Kerplunk and Corona-Bowling?
How do the games teach about protecting ourselves and others via vaccinations?
What other common diseases could you teach about using these games?
What are the science concepts underpinning this learning?
Transcript
Dr Karyn Maclennan
COVID-19 came along part way through our project, and so there was certainly a lot more emphasis on viruses and vaccines than the original intent of The Science of Medicines. And that came directly from our communities wanting accessible, face-to-face information that was relevant and easy to understand so that they could make informed choices about whether or not to be vaccinated or other steps that they might take to protect themselves against COVID-19. And so through that we created a couple of hands-on games about community immunity. We have a game called COVID Kerplunk.
Anya
You put the sticks through. That’s medicine – vaccine basically – stopping the virus getting into the community. The viruses are on top. You want to take turns pulling out the rods and you don’t want the viruses to fall.
Dr Karyn Maclennan
The community below were protected if those viruses were stopped getting through by the web of vaccines.
We also created Corona-Bowling, which was very popular, although I perhaps should have called it Corona-Hand Grenading. This was a bowling game with squishy virus balls.
Some of the people of this community have had their vaccine. Some have had only one shot and some have had their booster. So what do you think is going to happen when the virus hits that community?
Callum
I would reckon that most of them would fall except for the ones that have been boosted, but I’ll have to see.
Dr Karyn Maclennan
Nice. I like your hypothesis. Let’s go.
Callum
I got two people who weren’t vaccinated, one who was vaccinated and I almost got this other one who was vaccinated.
The boosted people are nailed to the floor, they can’t get knocked down by the virus. The vaccinated people are a bit harder to get knocked down, but with a good throw, you can. But the boosted people are all at the front. Then it’s the unvaccinated people who are protected by the boosted people and then in turn protect even the vaccinated people who are still a little susceptible, because if I threw this as hard as I could, I could knock it down eventually, but since everybody is protecting everybody, only a few get knocked down at a time.
Dr Karyn Maclennan
There were lots of comments that that was a really nice visual, hands-on way of understanding what community immunity means.
Callum
It takes not a lot of people to save everybody. I could only get four at the front at most. That’s a sign of everybody working together to keep everybody upright and standing instead of knocking everybody down.
Acknowledgements
Dr Karyn Maclennan, Te Roopū Rakahau Hauora Māori o Kāi Tahu | Ngāi Tahu Māori Health Research Unit, University of Otago Anya Callum Isla and Mila COVID-19 and virus learning materials on table and photo of Antonia Hoeta with poi outside the project container, courtesy of The Science of Medicines with thanks to Green Grubs Design for some design work and Annah for use of some illustrative elements
