Interesting, but this certainly isn’t the approach of the
Newcastle Festival, it’s very heavily cultural with a strong overlap with
arts (e.g Helen Storey this year) and not really about recruiting scientists,
its more about science and technology as a lifestyle, not a career path
(especially our Maker Faire), and tends not to do big lectures by serious names
for the chattering classes either, nor the ‘if it’s adult it has to
be scary’ approach (see this year’s Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll
extravaganza)
IAN
Ian Simmons
Science Communication Director
Centre for Life
Management Suite
Times Square
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 4EP
Tel: +44191 2438250
Fax: +44191 2438201
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Life - A Centre for world-class science
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From: psci-com: on public
engagement with science [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Richard
Ellam
Sent: 25 January 2011 11:18
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [PSCI-COM] Science for Kids, Arts for Grownups? (Was Public
Attitudes Survey Blog Post)
Dear All
On 22 Jan 2011, at 07:59, Frank Burnet wrote: (edited)
Science Festivals, which are now increasing in number
sharply around the world, do tend to project a strong impression that they are
fun outings for kids and their families designed principally to recruit more
scientists rather than opportunity for adults to engage with science and
scientists, and the same has been said of Science Centres. Given that these are
two of the major ways in which the image of science is projected to citizens,
including the gatekeepers of the cultural domain, It is not I think surprising
that the cultural dimensions of science /engineering are overshadowed by its
image as being principally interested in promoting itself to a specific
audience for a particular purpose.
Does this not also feed the unfortunate misperception that
science is something for kids, that sensible people 'grow out of'?
And doesn't a lot of the 'grownup' science engagement we see
talk about scary things such as Climate Change, GM Crops and so on? So science
may be perceived as being either infantile or frightening, and not
something sensible people want to let into their lives.
Yet there are lots of non threatening and 'adult' approaches
we could take to engaging gronwups with science. One possibility may be to
focus on the history of science, and particularly the way that scientific and
technical ideas have influenced 'general' history. People like history,
and are generally comfortable with it, but much presentation of history lacks
technical or scientific insight where this is relevant.
Maybe this is another way to bridge the cultural gap, if it
exists, and to get some money from the Arts crowd. too?
Hope this helps
Richard Ellam
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