Part of your grade for the course will be based on participating in public outreach and community science and sharing on that experience with your classmates.
This category has three assignments: two blog posts, and comments on (at least) three other blog posts by your classmates. Each blog post requires attending an event or participating in an activity, and writing up a summary and reflection on your experience posted on the course website. One assignment requires contributing to a community (“citizen”/crowdsourced) science research project, and one assignment will require participating in a free science event of your choice (both can be done online). The third assignment is to leave substantive, thoughtful comments on at least three of your classmates’ blog posts (not just “sounds cool!”, but a specific comment or question). For full credit, blog posts should be guided by a series of questions posted on the course website, include at least one image (with caption and alt text), be tagged with at least five relevant terms, and should be well-written (clear, concise, complete, and correct). A list of example community science projects and free events will be posted on our course website.
Community science project hubs include Zooniverse (https://www.zooniverse.org/) and SciStarter (https://scistarter.org/).
Prof. Kelly O’Donnell has compiled many public outreach events here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1yNlKDeC5mlSTeP45GJpsSjBWXU-GsepdIl3f3P5gUco/edit?usp=sharing
After checking out some of the events in the spreadsheet, please search the Internet and/or social media for free live public science events that may interest you (lectures, shows, workshops, etc.). Add a description of and link to at least one event as a comment on this post.
Free Public Science Event
For the Science Event, choose a free public event to attend, ideally live and interactive, but recorded if necessary. Your blog post should address as many of these questions as possible.
- What is the topic of the event? Be as specific about the field of science as possible.
- Who is presenting at the event? For each person involved, what is their position (job) and area of expertise? What is their educational background?
- What organization or institution is hosting the event? Why are they (or might they be) offering this event for the public?
- What is the format of the event? What medium audio, visual, etc.) is being used to convey information?
- How could the audience interact with the presenters or one another during the event? For example, was there a chat stream during the event, or Q&A?
- What did you learn from the event? This could be what you learned about the topic itself, about the people/institutions involved, or something more meta about your experience of or relationship to science.
Community Science
For your Community Science project, pick a science-related project (avoid purely historical/literary projects from Zooniverse, for example), and participate in the project enough to develop a solid understanding of the project, your task, and how they relate to one another. Your blog post should address as many of these questions as possible.
- What aspect of the natural world is the project studying?
- What science question is the project answering?
- What is the goal of the project?
- What is your task as a “citizen” scientist?
- How does your task contribute to the goal of the project?
- What data is the project using?
- What is the source of the data?
- What did you learn in Science Forward that is relevant to the project and your contribution to it?
Blog Post Guidelines
Think of blog posts as short, practice writing assignments. They don’t need to be essays or term papers with several drafts, but they should still represent thoughtful, careful work. Each blog posts should have multiple paragraphs, each with a topic sentence. Individual sentences and paragraphs can be short and simple, as long as they clearly convey your content. The writing in your blog posts should be clear, concise, complete, and correct. Please proofread for spelling and grammar before publishing your post.
On October 9th, the NASA Night Sky Network, will be hosting Global Moon Party. The event will be live streamed on YouTube and starts at 6pm ET. There will be many presentations over three hours including tips for good viewing, facts about the moon as well as lunar photography and visualizations. You can get more information of the event and a link to the YouTube page here:- https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/news-display.cfm?News_ID=977
On October 7th, 2021, Brian Clegg, a new Natural Scientist, of Cambridge University, published author, and scholar (possessing a master’s of Operational research from Lanchester University)[1], will host an hour-long online event regarding: “The Patterns That Explains The Universe”. Clegg will discuss the pillars of modern-day science touching on each of the five complex patterns that make up our everyday lives if we are aware of it or not. He brings his knowledge full circle while deliberating on subjects such as The Periodic Table of Elements, Feynman Diagram, Number Lines, and the DNA Double Helix[2]. These worldly motifs make up our existence, affecting everything from quantum physics to our genetic makeup. A truly fascinating 60 mins, that will pay for itself with true knowledge sense.
Source: Five Patterns that Explain the Universe with Brian Clegg | New Scientist
[1] New Scientist, Online Event: Five Patterns that Explain the Universe with Brian Clegg, Sep 24, 2021, Five Patterns that Explain the Universe with Brian Clegg | New Scientist
[2] Scientist, New, Sep 24, 2021
https://www.newscientist.com/science-events/five-patterns-brian-clegg/
Robin Dunbar, a Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at the University of Oxford, will host “The anatomy of friendship” on October 21st, 2021. It will go into how friendships affect our psychological and our physical health along with our wellbeing. He has published well over 400 science journal articles based on his career studying the social behavior of monkeys then studying of humans. The event is an hour long including a Q&A with him as well.
https://www.newscientist.com/science-events/friendship-robin-dunbar/
Jay Varma, M.D., a top expert on the prevention and control of diseases who helped lead New York City’s COVID-19 response, is hosting a free online webinar with the American Natural History Museum “Teen SciCafe: When a Pandemic Strikes With Jay Varma, M.D.” He will discuss how health officials track, identify, and help to prevent diseases such as COVID-19, and what teens can do to help.
https://amnh.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ygbb5HPzRiuO6XZGBTmCGw
This is happening on October 29th, 2021!
Public talk based in Hawaii by astronomer & planetary scientists Prof. Mike Broan, aka “Plutokiller” on twitter on Wednesday, November 3: https://www.keckobservatory.org/brown-talk-2/
Prof. Brown tells really engaging stories! After discovering Eris, the object that led to the demotion of Pluto, he and his research group are searching for a larger “Planet 9” beyond the orbit of Neptune in the Solar System.
The Hasso Plattner Institute New York will hold an event discussing AI and its impact on clinical decision making/the medical field. This event will be held digitally on Nov. 3rd.
AI is a buzzword that is used quite frequently in the present day, but it also has many practical applications, including its use in the medical realm where predictive capabilities may make medical treatments more effective. Dr. Thomas Fuchs will be speaking and further information can be found here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-impact-of-ai-on-medical-research-and-clinical-decision-making-tickets-193073998527?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
Today, November 14th, there is a Science in Theater festival at the Cell Theater in New York City.
This is a 3 day scientific theater festival that uses theater and science to teach about new technology, innovative brands, EEG devices, 3D printing, etc. The goal of this presentation is to use theater and storytelling to teach the audience about AI, neuroscience, and scientific research currently being conducted. I think this is Avery unique way to teach science as it is unconventional and does through theater and the arts, but is still an interesting and new way to relay scientific information to the audience.
https://www.transformatheatre.com/festival