“Zombie College” Offers Lab Safety Training Lessons

Halloween is a spooky holiday filled with fight and delight, from hair-raising costumes of terrifying creatures to delectable, sweet treats. It is the one day of the year we celebrate ghosts, ghouls, demons, and everything in between. For chemists and researchers who work in laboratories, any day of the year can be scary due to the multitude of potential safety hazards present.

North Carolina Community Colleges BioNetwork created “Zombie College,” a digital education experience, to drive home five core rules of laboratory safety and create a “safety state of mind” for participants.  

Zombie College includes a video game set during a zombie outbreak where players must lead a character through a lab without getting injured. To accomplish the task, players must use the five rules of lab safety: Dress for Lab, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Chemical Safety, Safety Equipment, and Lab Behavior.

The platform also provides classroom activities for students, as well as a short film on lab safety shot in the style of a classic zombie flick. There’s even a music video on using lab safety knowledge to live through a zombie apocalypse.

As October 31 approaches, do not miss out on this fun opportunity to brush up on lab safety.