By: Inas Essa

 

People, since a very young age, tend to watch, listen, and analyze everything around them. Seeking knowledge has never been limited to some people; it is embedded in all of us. Since scientific knowledge explains most of the events and phenomena happening around us, the importance of its acquisition has become a must.

To make this achievable, two parties are involved in the process. On the one hand, the general public, and on the other are scientists and science communicators with the methods and mediums they use to deliver their message and engage the public.

Reaching the “Aha” Moment

Part of science communication is to help people reach the Aha moment, after which they become more able to live better through implementing the knowledge they received from professionals; scientists and science communicators. Therefore, science engagement should be presented through a variety of mediums to reach a wider audience, depending on preferences and the scientific knowledge needed to be delivered.

Over many years, science journalism has been the main method to deliver scientific knowledge to the public. However, this method mostly lacks interactivity and two-way communication. As a result, different methods and mediums have evolved to meet these new needs, and have helped the public move from being passive recipients to active ones.

 

 

Types of Science Communication

Science communication aims to successfully share, present, and explain science-related topics to the general public, to enhance their scientific knowledge, which is important and tightly linked to their daily life.

There are two types of defined science communication:

1. Science Outreach: This is led by scientists and addressed to non-expert audiences; it includes information, dialogue, and involvement with the stakeholders.

Inputs for successful science outreach are:

• Research;

• Evaluation;

• Leadership programs;

• Institutional support for scientists and publics;

• Strategy of communication.

Activities should include:

• Public dialogue approaches;

• Knowledge co-production approaches.

 

2. Science Inreach/Scholarly Communication: This is an expert-to-expert communication, either with the same scientific background or different ones. This approach would support successful scientific collaboration in several ways, including:

• Help groups identify and articulate shared interests;

• Set models for working together;

• Ensure that all members of a community could participate and have their input. 

 

 

Some Forms of Science Communication

There are several methods to communicate science and make it digestible to the public depending on the type of messages intended to be conveyed:

1. Science Journalism is one-way communication, which means there is no interaction with the public. Mediums included in this type of communication are the internet, newspapers, magazines, TV, and radio.

Check out these interviews to learn some tips from well-established science journalists (the article is in English).

 

2. Science Museums and Science Centers are hubs of scientific knowledge that stimulate curiosity and expose children and adults to hands-on science experiments. Those that have been working on re-inventing themselves help people cope with the quickly changing technological environment, which could lead to improving their life skills. These places encompass science exhibitions, with hands-on exhibits, interactive displays, open labs, public lectures, and science shows.

You can read a diversity of translated articles about science museums and science centers in our ALDALEEL sections: Ecsite بالعربي (you can also find links to the original English) and ASTC بالعربي (only the Arabic translation is available)

 

3. Live or Face-to-Face Events allow a two-way dialogue between scientists and the public. During these events, the audience can participate with questions, insights, and experiences.

4. Citizen Science; citizen scientists are active contributors to the science field. They can participate in research through collecting data and participating in scientific projects with professionals.

You can learn more about citizen science from this article (English).
You might also like to read How Can Children Contribute to Science?

 

5. Science Cafes; these events include dialogues in an informal setting, such as a coffee shop, in which scientists, teachers, and interested individuals come together to discuss interesting and current issues about science.

6. Science Festivals provide science with more freshness and glam to attract the general public. These festivals are also dedicated to bringing researchers closer to the public; they showcase the diversity of research and highlight the impact of research on our daily lives.

Check out this article in English or Arabic for more insights on science festivals.

 

7. Children’s Universities are programs that typically include science-related lectures, workshops, hands-on tutorials, or similar activities, which take place as summer programmers, after-school activities, or at weekends.

 

 

More Relevance, More Engagement

Scientific knowledge is crucial; however, if it is not represented in the correct form so that the audience finds it irrelevant to their lives, they will not see its importance to them. Therefore, clear and relevant messaging is core to science communication. Even the latest and best research, if is transmitted through jargon or is irrelevant to the community, it would lose all meaning.

For better engagement, here are some initial tips for those interested in trying science communication:

1. Think, plan, and act clearly, keeping in mind what you want to achieve.

2. Do not target the audience as “one message fits all”.

3. Think about the issue, not the project; try to link the main ideas to important topics discussed in the local society.

4. Be creative in the message and the way you present it. For example, using visuals is important and helps the audience understand your message easier.

5. Understand media language and needs to make the most of it.

 

In a nutshell, the thirst to seek knowledge from the audience's side should be met with abundance and easy access to it on the other. That is the role of science communication, which science communicators work to achieve through different means.

You might also like to read
Inclusive Science Communication Key Traits and Recommendations.

 

 

References

• astc.org
• sisnetwork.eu
• aaas.org
• asbmb.org