By prescription

Since 2009, the Seine-Saint-Denis County Council has been backing “la Culture et l’Art au Collège (CAC)”. This project is based to a large extent on the presence in class for several weeks (40h) of an artist or scientist whose mission is to engage the students in a process of research and creation

Tutors: Isabelle Savoyaud/ docteure en pharmacie

Project manager: Mathieu Marion

Objectives:
Why look at medicine and prescription drugs? Probably because there are few products that the general public knows so little about and which are so closely bound up with our daily lives. With the help of a pharmacist, the class explored the world of medication through questions and practical work: the medicine cabinet as a field of enquiry, prescriptions and the active ingredient in a capsule.

Workshops:
The medicine cabinet
The first stage was defining what we mean by medication, prescription drugs, pills, medicine, etc. The tutor presented various products and explained what they do in the body. The pupils also discussed changes in the notion of drugs over the ages, in various countries and social classes. At the end of this stage, the pupils had to list and photograph the contents of their medicine cabinet and bring all the documents to class to analyse them.

Active principle
The active principle is the core of the drug. The pupils discovered how drugs are made. What is the active principle? Where does it come from and how is it obtained? Using a selection of plants supplied by the tutor, they made the sort of capsules that can be bought from the pharmacy.

Medication and food
Guided by the tutor, the class drew up a questionnaire for the pharmacists. In small groups, they conducted surveys in various pharmacies in the town. The idea was to bring out different types of behaviour towards medication. Who takes what? What are the most frequently prescribed drugs and who prescribed them? What is the pharmacist’s role?

Outcome:
At the end of the project, the pupils made a capsules called “Santix”. They designed the logo, wrote the leaflet and chose the active principle: a wish. The pupils made 200 boxes of 3000 Santix capsules with wishes inside and distributed them within the school.

Outings: 
- FACULTY OF PHARMACY (PARIS): VISIT TO THE MUSÉE D’HISTOIRE DU MÉDICAMENT
- PHARMACISTS IN THE TOWN OF VILLEPINTE

Participating school:
- Class (3rd) vocational training, Collège Camille Claudel, Villepinte

Photo: PIERRE ANTOINE