Category: Outreach

Inspiring Stories – Sharing Science through Social Media

Talking to young people in their own language.

In this EPEC Inspiring Outreach Story, Jan Lukačevič from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Czech Academy of Science tells us how to reach out to a young generation with science through social media!

In previous Inspiring Stories we have read about doodling, active participation in science projects, and other examples of involving young people in science. Are there any other ways of engaging youth and attracting them to a career in science? Well, there are! And as one meme says: “Modern times require modern solutions.”

Communicating science to members of the public is an integral part of a scientist’s job, although the importance of this role has developed over the years. Mocking or disrespect directed towards those willing to communicate science is hopefully becoming a thing of the past. More and more scientists understand the importance of public and political interest due to limited funding and a lack of human resources. What has also changed are the tools to pass on the latest scientific findings. It’s common to write up press releases for media and let the journalist do their job. At best, some scientists are involved in co-hosting shows on radio or TV, although this is more common in English speaking countries.

Currently, media in general are going through a shift. With increasing distrust in traditional media and low interest in printed media and radio amongst young people there’s a need to adjust ourselves to new tools and ways to reach them. Platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram are becoming the main source of information for young people whether we like it or not. 

However, there’s a catch in moving onto different communication platforms. It is not only about migrating the original content, but creating completely new content which is more suitable to the demands of young people.

That’s exactly what I did two years ago, when my friends in the marketing industry convinced me to give it a try. At first I was l very hesitant, doubting my scientific achievements (there were close to none), and whether I was the right person to do this. And since you might be having the same thoughts, here’s what they told me: “Your senior colleagues may be more established and successful than you, but to a young person interested in science it is much more helpful to see somebody younger that they can more easily identify with.” 

Emboldened by this, I started creating posts about space physics, my daily duties, struggles and facts related to how I progressed to my current career. I decided to use my native language for two reasons: First, there’s plenty of English content available so it would be very difficult to compete in terms of quality and second, I wanted to have as few obstacles as possible while trying to reach local audiences and bring them relevant, localised content as every education and cultural system has its own specific needs. 

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Tohle je můj tým! Na začátku května jsme se setkali, abychom se domluvili, jak budeme společně následující 3 měsíce experimentovat v laborce na ČZU – pěstovat zde plodiny, které by zvládly růst ve vesmíru a následně na Marsu. Mars je totiž nehostinné místo, kde se teploty můžou dost až k – 130°C, atmosféra je velice řídká a každá kapka vody má nesmírnou cenu. S členy týmu si vyzkoušíme future job Marsonauta, který zkusí najít způsob, jak v tomhle extrémním prostředí obstát a přinést nové vědecké poznatky, které nám na cestě na Mars můžou pomoct. Jsem proto fakt vděčný, že jsem pro Marsonauta ambasadorem, a který pod hlavičkou @vodafonecz v rámci projektu #jetovtobě nedávno odstartoval. Teď se nám staví laborka a už za měsíc budeme sázet první rostlinky, tak sleduj náš progres pod hashtagem #jetovtobě ! Jestli tě zajímá, jak proběhlo první setkání mrkni na Instagram profilu @vodafonecz

A post shared by Jan Lukačevič (@lukacevicjan) on May 26, 2019 at 12:51am PDT

So far, it’s been a great success. Using humour and pop cultural references, I have built up a base of over 6000 followers, working with major TV stations and newspapers in the country and teaming up with various companies to create campaigns promoting science to the general public. The most recent campaign promoted by a telecommunications operator consisted of building a lab to grow plants in Mars-like conditions, and has already generated millions of views and the progress (fingers crossed, we haven’t had the first harvest yet) is being covered by both TV stations and newspapers.

So what are you waiting for? Sharing your passion for science and interesting things directly with others has never been easier. Post about your successes, your failures, little happy moments from the research and stories of how you got involved in science. And if you ever struggle (don’t worry, it’s also a trial and error learning process for me), feel free to drop me a message on Instagram. I’ll be more than happy to help!

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Nejlepší průvodce polární září 1: Co to je? Tak a je to tu! K Vánocům mám pro vás slibovaného nejlepšího průvodce polární září, ve kterém si každý den během svátků povíme, co polární záře je, kde ji pozorovat, jak se připravit, co si vzít s sebou a různé tipy a triky. A třeba pak naplánujete vlastní výlet za tímhle krásným jevem! Takže o co jde? Myslím, že když člověk pozná i fyziku stojící za vznikem polární záře, jev ocení o to víc. Může se to zdát neuvěřitelné, ale za polární září stojí částice, které k Zemi putují přes 150 milionů kilometrů od Slunce. Některé z částic kosmického plazmatu uvězní magnetickém pole Země a ty následně zamíří k jejímu povrchu. Když se sprška protonů, elektronů a alfa částic dostane až k Zemi, začnou se srážet s molekulami atmosféry. Při tom z nich vyrážejí elektrony, jejichž místo okamžitě obsazují jiné (protože v přírodě je vždycky snaha zachovat rovnováhu, že jo). Při tomto ději se emituje světlo (a další záření, které okem nevidíme). Podle toho, do jaké molekuly narazí a jakou u toho mají energii, se liší barva polární záře. První protip: pokud jste barvoslepí, nebude to asi taková paráda. Nejčastěji reaguje kyslík a dusík, které uvolňují světlo o vlnové délce 558 nm (v zelené barvě) a 630 nm (v červené). A proč se polární záře hýbe? Světlo jako takové potom září v nejrůznějších pohybujících se křivkách a smyčkách. To je dáno tím, že nabité částice jsou ovlivňovány zemskými magnetickými siločarami, které jsou samy neustálé a dochází k jejich pohybu. S kým byste se chtěli dívat? Zítra si povíme, kam se za polární září vypravit! #space #universe #planet #earth #science #astro #astrophotography #astronomy #aurora #auroraborealis #north #northernlights #iceland #sweden #norway #night #nightskyphotography #guide #adventure #trip #winter #pruvodce

A post shared by Jan Lukačevič (@lukacevicjan) on Dec 23, 2018 at 10:04am PST

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Title image: Star Forming Region NGC 3582 without Stars. Credit: Andrew Campbell

A place where people are fighting for knowledge

In this EPEC Inspiring Outreach Story, Anna Łosiak of the University of Exeter boldly goes where science meets fantasy in the magical world of comic-cons.

There are places on this Earth where people are really determined to learn about science. Really, really determined. They not only spend hours in queues, but also occasionally participate in proper fist-fights in order to win their way into a lecture room. Those magical places are comic-cons.

I have always been a nerd. I know The Silmarillion almost by heart, live according to teachings of Terry Patchett and follow Capitan Jean-Luc Picard nearly religiously. It should be no surprise to anyone that I have been attending comic-cons. At first, I was only listening: about the science behind the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (we can mutate turtles, but they will most probably not turn into ninjas), about extinct fantastic beasts (gigantic spiders – yes, dragons breathing fire – no), and all about faeces (can you try to foretell the future from your own excrement? Yes, you can, but it works only if you are asking about your own health and have quite a lot of modern medical equipment handy). Lectures were usually given by other nerdy scientists: PhD students and full professors alike, who were combining their knowledge with their hobby to produce something that was both informative and entertaining. I wanted to be like them.

So, one year, 5 months before the event, I sent in an abstract and a short motivational letter to the comic-con, and was accepted. My first lecture was discussing what is scientifically correct and incorrect in the movie Armagedon. This topic is quite close to my hart, because I study impact craters and the environmental mess that they can induce on Earth. The one thing I will always remember from the evening of the presentation is a quite interesting-looking fight to get to the lecture room (Spiderman vs Conan the Barbarian – the latter won).

Lectures during a comic-con are among the most challenging outreach activities I have participated in (and I do a LOT of outreach). It needs to be understandable, engaging and entertaining for people of different ages (from early teenagers to people in their 70s), education levels and backgrounds. Luckily all those people have something in common that can be used during the presentation: their love and knowledge of sci-fi and fantasy culture. For example, probably they do not know much about impact craters, but they all are aware that Wakanda (a home of the Black Panther) was created thanks to the impact of a large vibranium meteorite. And this common comic-related base can be used to create a tale of real impact craters.

After a couple of years lecturing at comic-cons about space science I have been given large, 450 people rooms to fill and I have gained a very small but an absolutely heartwarming group of people who regularly enjoy my efforts. I have had a couple of long discussions after my lectures (e.g. 3-hour long deliberations about the habitability of planets known from sci-fi books and movies). Last but not least, as an invited first-level VIP, I have met (in a toilet) a couple of famous actors (flown to Poland from the USA). It was fun! ?

Do you like this story and want more? Browse our archive of Inspiring Stories and get inspired!

Spotlight on Outreach – Barrel organ of plate tectonics: an innovative tool for outreach and education.

This guest post on the “Barrel organ of plate tectonics”  for our Spotlight on Outreach series has been contributed by by Dr. Petr Brož of the Institute of Geophysics of the Czech Academy of Science and co-chair of the Outreach Working Group of the Europlanet Early Careers Network (EPEC). 

Plate tectonics is the major geological concept to explain dynamics and structure of Earth’s outer shell, the lithosphere. In the plate tectonic theory, processes in the Earth’slithosphere and its dynamics are driven by the relative motion and interaction lithospheric plages. The regions on Earth that are most geologically active often correlate with the lithospheric plate boundaries. Thus, for explaining the Earth’s surface evolution – mountain building, volcanism and earthquakes’ origin – it is important to understand processes at the plate boundaries. However, the processes associated with plate tectonics usually require a significant period of time to result in effects and, therefore, their entire cycles cannot be directly observed in nature by humans. It is a challenge for scientists to study these processes, but also for teachers and science communicators trying to explain them to students and to the general public. To more effectively engage people with these concepts, we developed a mechanical model of plate tectonics which demonstrates the most important processes associated with plate tectonics in real time.

The concept of plate tectonism is usually explained by schematic illustrations which are static and therefore can be hard for the public to imagine the complexity of the processes.

How does the model work?

The mechanical model is a wooden box, more specifically a special type of barrel organ, with hand painted backdrops in the front side. These backdrops are divided into several components representing geodynamic processes associated with plate tectonics, specifically convective currents occurring in the mantle, sea-floor spreading, a subduction of the oceanic crust under the continental crust, partial melting and volcanism associated with subduction, a formation of magmatic stripes, an ascent of mantle plume throughout the mantle, a volcanic activity associated with hot spots, and a formation and degradation of volcanic islands on moving lithospheric plate. All components are set in motion by a handle controlled by a human operator, and the scene is illuminated with colored lights controlled automatically by an electric device embedded in the box.

Conclusion and feedback

This mechanical model can be used as a unique outreach tool of geological processes usually taking eons to occur. Thus, students and the general public can understand the most important concept in geology in an easy and entertaining way. The very positive feedback from the audience showed us that we developed a really efficient tool on how to explain this interesting theory.

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