Have you ever seen the "5 Levels of Difficulty" video series on youtube? In it, expert scientists are tasked with the challenge of explaining a scientific concept (such as gravity or CRISPR) to 5 different people; a child, a teen, a college student, a grad student, and a PhD expert. It's fascinating to watch these scientists transform across the different audiences- not only in their choice of vocabulary, but in their vocal cadence and body language as well. Those videos demonstrate just how much skill is required to effectively communicate science in an informal setting. Within seconds, you need to assess the background knowledge of the person' you're speaking to, then tailor the conversation to include topics that the person will not only find accessible, but interesting! Needless to say, all student scientists (myself included) need extensive amounts of practice to nail down this skill. I've figured out that university experiences such as TA-ing and attending conferences will take me so far, but the other half of my training needs to happen outside of academia. Thanks to the help of educational programs around Pittsburgh, I've found several opportunities to practice science engagement. I've tried lots of things; giving talks to members of a botanical garden, judging middle-school science competitions, leading field trips... but my favorite is science tabling. It's basically the Russian roulette of outreach events. Within any given day you might talk to a 3-year-old who loves dinosaurs, a retired couple that loves gardening (and can name more species of plants than you), or a person with their doctorate who wants to know the specific details of your experiment. Sometimes, these people all visit at once and you have to bounce between conversations like a telephone operator. I've come to love the informality of tabling. If your science-pitch doesn't land, the worst that can happen is a few moments of polite conversation. If you can really connect with someone, however, the best scenario is that you get to have an exciting, nerdy discussion about your favorite subject. Over time, my odds of winning peoples' interest have increased significantly; probably because I've gotten better at adapting to my audience. Most of that improvement has come through repetition. I might talk to 20 or 30 people over the course of a day about the same topic (invasive species), but tweak it a little bit every time. Kids, for example, seem to like when I turn things into a game. I get them to pretend that they are an alien (i.e. invasive species) who has just been introduced to a new planet. What sort of resources would they need to survive? How would they move around? Would they have any enemies? Then, I get them to look at images of invasive plants and guess how they were able to survive in Pittsburgh, based on their physical traits (thorns on a thistle, edible berries on a shrub, etc). I think most kids are surprised to learn that plants don't just exist in the environment like rocks. They struggle to survive and do lots of creative things to increase their odds of success. Many of the adults I meet own a garden, and by default have experienced their own share of issues with managing invasive plants. The severity of their problems range from dandelions (annoying, but easy to mow-over) to Japanese knotweed (land-degrading and near-impossible to kill). I often describe the history of how these species were introduced in the first place. People are often surprised to hear that a large number of invasive plants were intentionally brought to North America by humans. Japanese knotweed, for example, was a popular ornamental plant and used for erosion control. I then move on to talk about how it all relates to my own research (I study how invasive species interact with the native plant community) and why it's relevant to land management practices. Throughout the whole conversation, I do my best to open up a space where my audience can bring their own interests and knowledge to the table. Public outreach is one of the best parts of my job. It's a joy to leave my office for a few hours and meet new faces in Pittsburgh, as well as share my love for science in this informal setting. It's helped to improve the quality of my research questions as well. I've had to think long and hard about the relevance of my work, as well as how to communicate that message effectively across a broad audience. No matter what career I end up with after my PhD, I know I'll be greatly benefited by the skills I've acquired in speaking and engagement. For anyone interested in expanding their involvement in science outreach, I'd recommend reaching out to nonprofit organizations such as museums, after-school programs, and community clubs. They're always looking for volunteers to participate in local events, such as BioBlitzes or science fairs,. No matter where you live, people will want to learn about the research happening in their city! It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech. - Mark Twain
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AuthorHello! My name is Rachel and I am a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. All opinions expressed in this blog are my own. Archives
April 2024
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