Drug Delivery

Engineering better medication and better methods of delivering them are front and center as engineering challenges for the 21^st Century.

In this introductory program, participants will delve into the sense of touch, taste and smell, explore how these sense organs are impacted by diseases and what role they play in the intake of medicines to cure diseases.

The sensation of touch is a fundamental part of our daily experience. We use it to gather information about our surroundings and as a means of establishing trust and social bonds with other people. The skin is the largest organ in the human body and houses receptors that sense touch.

What makes up the human skin? What triggers pain? Why are many vaccinations / shots injected through the skin?

Our sense of taste comes from the taste buds on the surface of our tongue in our mouth. Each taste bud has about 100 receptor cells.

Did you know that 80% of the tasting is determined by what we smell?

That makes our noses an important part of the food journey through our mouths to the digestive system. Many pills take that same journey. What about snot? We produce a liter a day!

Participants will learn about germs / pathogens like bacteria and viruses, explore various drug delivery approaches and technologies, learn about vaccinations, design pills and get hands on closing a wound and fixing a broken nose!

Activities include:

Sensory Scavenger Hunt, The Braille Challenge, Ultra V- Ultra Vibrant!, Skin sensitivity, Skinny Model, Traveling Germs, Baggy Stomach, Dissolving Pills, Snot In My Nose, Broken Nose Engineering Challenge and more!