Models of Evolution in Science Outreach and Public Education

Public education and involvement with evolutionary theory has long been limited by both the complexity of the subject and societal pushback. Furthermore, effective and engaging evolution education has become an elusive feat that often fails to reflect the types of questions that evolution research attempts to address. Here, we explore the best methods to present scientific research using interactive educational models to facilitate the learning experience of the audience most effectively. By creating artistic and game-play oriented models, it becomes possible to simplify the multifaceted aspects of evolution research such that it enables a larger, more inclusive, audience to better comprehend these complexities. In allowing the public to engage with highly interactive education materials, the full spectrum of the scientific process, from hypothesis construction to experimental testing, can be experienced and understood. Providing information about current cancer evolution research in a way that is easy to access and understand and accompanying it with an interactive model that reflects this information and reinforces learning shows that research platforms can be translated into interactive teaching tools that make understanding evolutionary theory more accessible.