Science Online New York (SoNYC) encourages audience participation in the discussion of how science is carried out and communicated online. To tie in with June’s event which looks at how scientists reach out of the ivory tower, communicating science to the public, we’re hosting a series of guest posts on Nature blogs. We will hear from a range of contributors: scientists, writers, enthusiasts, communicators, events organizers, policy makers and teachers, each sharing details about how they engage and reach out to the public.

When he’s not studying virus evolution, Tufts Postdoc Ravi Subramanian has another life as a comedy writer. He thinks scientists could learn something from stand-ups about how to engage an audience.  A guest post as part of our #reachingoutsci series.  Continue reading →

Richard Holliman is a sociologist studying the related areas of science communication and public engagement with the sciences. Trevor Collins is a computing researcher working in technology-enhanced learning and specialising in community informatics. They are based at the Open University, UK. Working with scientists and other stakeholders on the Informing science outreach and public engagement (Isotope) project, they collaboratively developed a community website for science engagement practitioners (https://isotope.open.ac.uk). Here’s why they put public engagement at the centre of their research.  Continue reading →

Science Online New York (SoNYC) encourages audience participation in the discussion of how science is carried out and communicated online. To tie in with June’s event which looks at how scientists reach out of the ivory tower, communicating science to the public, we’re hosting a series of guest posts on Nature blogs. We will hear from a range of contributors: scientists, writers, enthusiasts, communicators, events organizers, policy makers and teachers, each sharing details about how they engage and reach out to the public.

James O’Malley is not a scientist!  He has a MA in international relations from King’s College, London, but has inexplicably got in with the science crowd. He tries his best. The Pod Delusion’s deputy editor, Liz Lutgendorff, also contributed to this article.  She’s also not a scientist but rather currently researching her PhD on the history of the UK secular movement. 

Way back in 2009, I started a vaguely science-themed podcast. A few weeks later, I found out that far from this being an original idea, there are hundreds of them. But nearly three years later, The Pod Delusion is still going – thanks to our pool of over one hundred contributors and my girlfriend’s stunning tolerance for spending our evenings pointing microphones at people cleverer than I am.

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Science Online New York (SoNYC) encourages audience participation in the discussion of how science is carried out and communicated online. To tie in with June’s event which looks at how scientists reach out of the ivory tower, communicating science to the public, we’re hosting a series of guest posts on Soapbox Science. We will hear from a range of contributors: scientists, writers, enthusiasts, communicators, events organizers, policy makers and teachers, each sharing details about how they engage and reach out to the public.

Shaaron Leverment (FRAS) and Ben Brown established Explorer Dome (www.explorerdome.co.uk) in 1998 with an aim to make science exciting for all ages and abilities.  It is currently one of the best known and most respected science outreach companies in the UK, visiting 60 000 school children every year.

Shaaron is the past president of the British Association of Planetaria (www.planetaria.org.uk) and is the current international chair of a professional services committee which strives for quality and excellence in science education in planetaria across the world. Continue reading →

Science Online New York (SoNYC) encourages audience participation in the discussion of how science is carried out and communicated online. To tie in with June’s event which looks at how scientists reach out of the ivory tower, communicating science to the public, we’re hosting a series of guest posts on Soapbox Science. We will hear from a range of contributors: scientists, writers, enthusiasts, communicators, events organizers, policy makers and teachers, each sharing details about how they engage and reach out to the public.

Dan Richards is Manager of Regional Programmes at the British Science Association. Dan manages National Science & Engineering Week and the Association’s programme of 30 volunteer branches of scientists and engineers who engage their local communities with events throughout the year. He earnt his Medical Microbiology BSc at University of Kent and has completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Science Communication from Birkbeck Univesity of London. Dan can be found on twitter @_danrichards.

The stereotypical image of a scientist in Britain is no longer that of a short, hairy old man with protruding front teeth and glasses. Thanks to the recent efforts of the BBC and physics’ latest pin-up boy, Professor Brian Cox, “geek chic” has taken parts of British culture by storm. Since Wonders of the Solar System first aired, I’ve found myself being asked more questions by non-science friends about science – something that would never have happened before. People actually want to listen, and I’ve even heard “Brian Cox” and “man crush” in the same sentence more than once by the most unlikely of guys…
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