Why National Science Week?
Australia's science festival brings science lovers together once a year, but the science community needs to work harder to convince more people that science matters, argues Paul Willis.
Explore the world: find a science event near you during National Science Week (Source: gpointstudio/iStockphoto)
I suppose that my beef with National Science Week is akin to my beef with Christmas. Why should we have just a season of goodwill to all instead of that sentiment being prominent in our thoughts every other day of the year?
Similarly, why only a week of thinking about science and doing sciencey things when we can have a little bit of science in our lives every day?
Add to that the fact that, for the last decade or so that I've been involved with National Science Week I can't recall it ever being restricted to just seven days, and you might understand some of my good-natured confusion around the whole event!
It is important in a society like ours, where the science that underpins the everyday is not readily apparent to most people, that we set aside a period each year to bring that science and the role it plays in our lives to the fore. And there's no better way of doing that than having a bit of fun along the way!
An interesting article in The Conversation recently pointed out that there were identifiable audiences; those that engage with science and those that don't.
I suppose we should take some solace in the figures provided there that suggest that about 55 per cent of the potential audience are already engaged with science; they watch science programs, read science blogs and take part in science public events.
Beyond that there is a middle 15 per cent who want to engage with science but are scared off by the over-technical presentations or they give some other reason as to why they don't actually follow through. Then there are the 30 per cent of really disengaged people who have no interest in any science because they don't see the value in it.
What do we know of this last, almost one third of the potential audience? They tend to be female and have less education than the other groups. They are also more likely to support government cuts to science and research and have a pervasive conception that science is somehow out of control.
To engage or not engage?
Personally I'm in two minds about this unengaged group. On the one hand, I can't see the point in spending scarce science communication resources trying to ignite an interest in science among those that are clearly not interested.
I think we are better off looking at how we tackle the middle group, how we make science and science engagement more inclusive, accessible and less threatening. Most people get through life quite happily without a working knowledge of the periodic table, the laws of motion or a realistic appreciation of evolutionary theory, so if people are not interested in science, why make any efforts to engage with an interest that is simply not there?
But the other side of the coin, why we should work out how to engage the disengaged, is founded in several key observations. If these people are more likely to support cuts to scientific funding, there's a reason in itself to demonstrate the value of science.
If they view science as out of control then they are more likely to not appreciate what science contributes to pressing issues such as climate change, energy consumption, population and so on.
Virtually every issue that Australian citizens need to deal with have a science component or perspective that is crucial to finding the best outcomes for the nation, communities and for each individual. If almost one third of the population do not recognise, value and understand the science behind these issues, they are more likely to support paths of action that are sub-optimal or even deleterious to a sustainable future.
A week - and a day - of science
This year National Science Week runs from 10 to 18 August.
So, as our annual celebration of science rolls around, what is being provided for each of these three audiences?
You can find out what activities are happening in your area on the National Science Week website. And, predictably, the engaged are well catered for. This concerns me because I think we need to go deeper than just an introspective worship of the weird and wonderful world of science.
Yes, there is a place for events aimed squarely at the converted; celebrations of science for the scientifically engaged; lots of geek-to-geek love-ins in the name of science (not that I wish to sound too dismissive of these but they do tend to only reach out to those already afflicted with a love of science).
What's more important to my mind are events that strive to reach beyond the converted, to the middle 15 per cent and possibly beyond to the 30 per cent of the disengaged. The secret in these events is that they be designed to be accessible for all comers, that they offer a chance to get involved in the actual science itself, they deal with issues that are relevant to the audience and, perhaps most of all, they are fun!
One of the key developments around the accessibility question in recent years is the multiplication of ways that people can interact across the country and around the world through new internet platforms. The information age may finally have conquered the tyranny of distance so that, no matter where you are, if you have access to the net, you can take part in all kinds of interesting activities.
The ABC's Explore the Seafloor citizen science project is a great example of this. Citizen science projects are a growing trend of getting ordinary people involved in science research, usually by helping to collect data or, where there is an abundance of data to be analysed, farming it out to others to wade through and start the analysis. Explore the Seafloor asks volunteers to analyse photographs of the seafloor to help scientists work on two research projects. One of these projects focuses on seaweeds and how they are affected by climate change, while the other looks at an invasive sea urchin and aims to map its spread around the Australian coast. All you need to do is download the photos and count the seaweed or sea urchins — that's not intimidating and could be a creative job to share with the kids one evening as part of their homework. What a wonderful opportunity to actually do some marine science no matter where you are across the continent! Accessible, relevant, useful and fun! All four boxes ticked.
Here at RiAus we're looking more at the fun and accessible angles with our annual Sci-Ku competition . We challenge you to come up with a science-based Hai-ku and this year, in honour of International Year of Statistics and International Year of Mathematics of Planet Earth, we're keen to see suitably maths-ish-statistically-kind-of-global sorts of Sci-Kus! A bit of creative fun that allows you to reflect on the mathematics and statistics that underpin so many of the everyday phenomena that we encounter.
Across National Science Week there are hundreds of events around the country including opportunities to look through telescopes, visit laboratories, go on behind the scene tours of museums or attend lectures and workshops. You're bound to find something of interest, even if you didn't think you were that interested in science.
But most of all, get out and have a bit of fun. It may well be the best chance you have to get into some hands-on science until around about the second week in August 2014!
About the author:
Dr Paul Willis is the director of RiAus, Australia's unique national science hub, which showcases the importance of science in everyday life. The well-known palaeontologist and broadcaster previously worked for ABC TV's Catalyst program.
Published 07 August 2013
