STFC Solar System Plasmas Summer School: Outreach. Dr Alec MacKinnon Centre for Open Studies/School of Physics and Astronomy

Transcription

1 STFC Solar System Plasmas Summer School: Outreach Dr Alec MacKinnon Centre for Open Studies/School of Physics and Astronomy

2 OUTREACH; PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT: WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?

3 What? Communication of scientific research, its underlying principles, its results and findings, to people not professionally involved in the same subject

4 What? Communication of scientific research, its underlying principles, its results and findings, to people not professionally involved in the same subject Pre-school children Late teens taking A level or Advanced Higher Physics Members of the House of Lords Professional scientists in other disciplines.. Note shift from public understanding to public engagement : active researchers!

5 OUTREACH/PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT: WHY?

6 Why? To be discussed

7 Why? STFC, Royal Society, etc.: Funders expect it! FUNDERS EXPECT IT!!!!! And so prospective employers look for it Some involvement now a desirable element of every academic career

8 OUTREACH/PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT: WHO?

9 Who? Primary schools Secondary schools Adults Families Particular groups, e.g. Scouts Guides/Brownies Visually impaired People in particular postcodes.

10 OUTREACH/PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT: WHAT?

11 James Stuart ( ) First true Professor of Engineering at Cambridge ; founder of the university extension movement

12 James Stuart ( ) First true Professor of Engineering at Cambridge ; founder of the university extension movement Talks in North of England, 1860s, for women s and working men s groups

13 James Stuart ( ) First true Professor of Engineering at Cambridge ; founder of the university extension movement Talks in North of England, 1860s, for women s and working men s groups History of astronomy, not educational theory!

14 James Stuart ( ) First true Professor of Engineering at Cambridge ; founder of the university extension movement Talks in North of England, 1860s, for women s and working men s groups History of astronomy, not educational theory! (Led to first formally established extension courses, 1873)

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16 Credits: NASA/SDO/Goddard Scientific Visualization Studio

17 H telescopes

18 OUTREACH/PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT: HOW+WHERE?

19 How? Telling Showing Involving (note shift in policy emphasis from Public Understanding to Public Engagement )

20 How and where? Big events: National Science and Engineering Week British Science Festival Local Science Festivals (may nonetheless be big and attract lots of people, both presenters and public from far away) E.g. Orkney Science Festival Edinburgh Science Festival Cheltenham Science Festival

21 Middle of Scotland Science Festival (2013) Crianlarich: population ~200

22 Middle of Scotland Science Festival (2013)

23 Middle of Scotland Science Festival (2013)

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27 MOSSFest: some key points Target groups: families, adults (separate events in previous days targeted local schools) Remote communities important to think about groups left out of more conventional efforts Cf. disadvantaged communities, people with disabilities.. RAS2000 Very wide range of people, from adults who left school with no qualifications to professional scientists (SRUC) All ages from pre-school to retired How do we talk to them?

28 Fort William Mountain Festival

29 NATURAL EVENTS

30 Partial solar eclipse of 20 March 2015

31 Partial solar eclipse of 20 March 2015

32 Astronomical phenomena Eclipses (unbeatable!) Meteor showers Aurora Apparitions of bright planets Moon Comets

33 Hale-Bopp (1997)

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35 How and where Departments /Schools outreach programmes Schools: Primary/Secondary/Other Museums, Councils, Parks Science Festivals (and other festivals!) Media events E.g. BBC Stargazing Live Regular events: Café Scientifique Science in the pub Bright Club Etc.! Adult education!!!!!!

36 New media Websites Missions Big facilities (who are these aimed at?) Blogs Twitter Podcasts Jodcast Etc.!

37 SOME GENERAL POINTS

38 Words We modelled the response of the atmosphere to bombardment by a beam of energetic electrons

39 First question Why do you want to do outreach?

40 First question Why do you want to do outreach? Leads to: who will you be engaging?

41 First question Why do you want to do outreach? Leads to: who will you be engaging? Leads to: how will you speak to/show/involve them? And probably also where?

42 Find the channels that work for you Science standup Playing games Talking calmly Tweeting/blogging Building an app or website

43 Conclusions Public engagement can involve a huge range of people In an enormous range of settings Via all methods opened up by imagination Important for the career as well as making the world a better place! But so many different channels are possible that more or less everybody will be able to find a channel that suits them, if they wish

44 If time allows: Take a fundamental concept from plasma physics, e.g. Debye length Plasma frequency Gyroradius Imagine you have to explain this to group of people (who? Primary school pupils? MPs? Biologists? Retired businessmen?) How would you explain this idea to them, persuade them that it is interesting, exciting, important?