Jenga blocks, postcards and paints
- Mikayla Hu
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
Having walked past the Great Exhibition Road Festival a few times during my time as a student at Imperial College London, it felt quite special to return to the vibrant two-day celebration of arts and science to host the Fleming Initiative stand.
This year, we used a variety of creative activities to engage hundreds of visitors with the complex topic of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Nerf guns were such a successful trick to get people intrigued, and we use them as an analogy for different lines of antibacterial treatments. The activity highlighted how antibiotics won't work against the wrong target, such as a viral infection, and how their effectiveness is increasingly challenged by constantly evolving bacteria that are becoming harder and harder to treat.
We built, watched the fall of, and rebuilt the classic Modern Medicine Jenga tower: a powerful metaphor for how antibiotics underpin today’s healthcare. Just as removing a few key blocks can bring the whole tower down, the loss of effective antibiotics would put many routine medical procedures at risk.
Once the sun came out on the second day, we also played Snakes and Ladders with visitors. The rules were simple: good choices, such as handwashing and using antibiotics responsibly, help you climb ahead, while poor choices can send you sliding backwards, making infections harder to treat. Through a familiar game, we were able to build a broader picture of how everyday actions might help tackle AMR. Or contribute to it.
Building on previous campaigns, such as the Thank You Antibiotics@Piccadilly Lights, we had more public members reflect on how antibiotics have protected them and their loved ones. Not just for known bacterial infections but also in safeguarding routine medical procedures such as hip replacements, surgery and cancer treatments.
We also got to talk directly to people about the research projects taking place across the Fleming Initiative. Conversations ranged from an animation hosted on YouTube, co-designed with members of the public, explaining why it's important to take antibiotics exactly as prescribed; to research exploring how better diagnostic tools can support treatment decisions; to creative, easy-to-use educational games that we're developing for AMR learning in the classroom.
This year, the Initiative has made more progress in strengthening our portfolio across science and innovation, public engagement, involvement and behavioural science, and informed policy. We have been uniting international stakeholders and expertise to launch global consensus in AMR education, to address inequitable access to diagnostics, and to foster global fellowship networks. And our vision – where this ecosystem of developing and delivering AMR solutions will come together under one roof – is taking shape in the form of the Fleming Centre, which will launch in Paddington in 2028. All of this was brilliantly brought to life in a mural created by our artist, which caught people's attention and invited them to stop, look closer and start a conversation.
As we packed away the Jenga blocks, postcards, paints at the end of the weekend, I found myself reflecting on the many conversations we had over the two days. Some visitors arrived already familiar with AMR, while others were hearing about it for the first time. And yet, people would still want to know more and were willing to take actions if their concerns were held, their doubts carefully navigated. Those conversations were a reminder of why public engagement matters, and why creating opportunities to listen, learn and share ideas is such an important part of tackling AMR.
