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Post date: Jun 21, 2018 8:38:26 AM
More and more frequently as scientists we are tasked with engaging in outreach activities, connecting with people outside our usual circle of contacts. Typically the perception of outreach is going into schools, inspiring the 'next generation of scientist' or offering career advice; 'do physics if you want to be well paid'(1). Whilst this in itself is rewarding, there is a growing need for making science accessible to adults, scan the popular press for science articles and inevitably you'll observe inaccuracies, ill-informed opinion pieces or sensationalised stories about foods/objects that give you or cure you of cancer. The challenge is how to provide people with the tools so that they are better informed and can then make evidence based critical assessments for themselves, I mean does Facebook really give you cancer(2)?
There are now a number of groups and regular events that are actively seeking to increase science awareness, in ways that are accessible and enjoyable, often involving a pub. One of the most successful examples of this hybrid education/entertainment/inebriation models are the Pint of Science (PoS) (3) events which started off in Cambridge and London in 2012 and grew in both popularity and size. This year's PoS encompassed hundreds of events in 32 cities throughout the UK and is likely to continue to grow. PoS events typically have a series of themed talks/demonstrations in a suitable venue and these are ticketed, with the more popular programs selling out well in advance.
One of the challenges that scientists face is the task of explaining difficult concepts, ideas and data to non-experts, in a way that allows them to follow the narrative but maintain impact. We're often so embedded in familiar jargon that breaking out of this cycle can be fiendishly demanding. One of the popular regular events that is trying to bridge the gap between budding scientist and general public is the Pubhd movement (4). Here PhD students give a public lecture on their work and are typically recompensed in the beverage of their choice. These run regularly in university towns, are often student led and are very rewarding.
In my hometown of Barnsley I'm heavily involved in the Skeptics in the pub (SitP) movement (5) (purely for research purposes). Whilst not strictly science outreach, SitP has a heavy science content and the format of these evenings is that an invited speaker talks for ~45 minutes on the topic of their choice (in a pub obviously). There's a comfort break followed by an open ended Q&A, which can last anywhere between 15 minutes and two hours. The last time I presented at such an event I took an infrared spectrometer into the Old No7, described enough physics so that the audience knew how it worked and the Q&A involved participants collecting infrared spectra whilst we interpreted that data on the fly. It was a great night, the Barnsley SitP are an eclectic bunch including local musicians, teachers, hipsters, NHS workers, business owners and IT technicians in their ranks. We were able to see differences in the skin of hand-crème users versus those that don't lather-up, a huge variety in the composition of hair (beard hair, product loaded hair, coloured hair), we quantified the alcohol in vodka and we identified that Sean's silk tie was polyester.
Remember, outreach….it's not just for the kids.
Prof Chris Sammon
(1) http://www.rsc.org/news-events/articles/2017/dec/pay-and-reward-2017/
(2) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1149207/How-using-Facebook-raise-risk-cancer.html
(3) https://pintofscience.co.uk/
(4) http://pubhd.org/
(5) https://www.skepticsinthepub.org/
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