Comments on: Young Scientist Outreach

By: John Williams

John Williams — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:53:19 +0000

One of the outreach programs I’m involved with is JPL Solar System Ambassadors. This group of volunteers, space enthusiasts, link up with the Museum Alliance and other volunteer organizations to promote space. It’s highly rewarding. One thing I find missing is young people in the ranks. If this kind of thing were available when I was an undergrad, I would have jumped on it. Maybe it’s a lack of time or maybe it’s a lack of PR on the part of the program to try and reach this age group niche. The program is taking applications now, by the way, if anyone is interested. You’ll find it on the JPL site. (That site is: http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/ambassador/ (CCP))

By: FailedProtostar

FailedProtostar — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:05:13 +0000

I live in Ottawa, Canada, and one of the universities here, Carleton University, is helping students learn how to communicate science, but I’m not sure how far they go in promoting outreach.

“…for about eight years, we have given a course called the First Year Seminar in Science. This course, given to about 80 students each year, is not primarily about science content but rather about science communication.

The students are encouraged to learn how to write and to speak to readers and audiences at various levels, including to the general public. We are not yet sure how well this is working, but indications are all very positive.”

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/opinion/Scientists+should+careful+with+language/1929888/story.html

That’s getting close, but I’d be interested in knowing if they encourage students to go out and put what they’ve learned to work with the public.

By: ccp

ccp — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 05:21:07 +0000

Yes, you are right about the new media — many of us were starting to grasp it even a decade or more ago when web pages were the “new media.” It seems natural and normal.

I’m not saying that scientists should become writers — but that they should have that toolkit to help them communicate the science they are doing — either to the public or to those of us who also write and publish about science and help them get their word out.

By: John Williams

John Williams — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 04:46:36 +0000

I find this an interesting problem. It seems to me that most of the new media outreach is done by graduate students. They’ve embraced new technologies. Is this the way to reach the public? It’s only part of the puzzle. New media is one tool, hosting face-to-face engagements is another. I think they go hand in hand. There’s a sad statistic out there that only 15 percent of Americans actually know a scientist. There is more to life than research. Sharing that joy of learning and science can be contagious in the right audiences. I come at this from a different angle. I’m a journalist with a science background, not the other way around. I was trained to question what I hear and read, dig for answers and prepare it in such a way as it’s easily digested by the general public. I also know PR and marketing. It might be helpful for scientists not only to be able to write to the public but be able to clearly explain their research in an entertaining way but also present it in favorable ways to garner attention support. This does take time.