Education

Getting Started with Science Communication

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Getting Started with Science Communication If you are wanting to get started with science communication you can think of it as a three step process. The first step involves weighing up your various choices about who you want to reach, the topic you want to focus on and the ways you hope to communicate about it. Even if your interests are quite wide, it pays to narrow down your topic area to make it as ‘niche’ as possible. For example if you are a marine biologist, you could focus on corals, sharks or sea urchins, or some other topic. This simplifies your life as you get more and more familiar with the topic and your content is self reinforcing, which quickly builds up your expertise and authority. So once you have clarity about your purpose and your process it is time to get started with Step 2. This is where you simply get going by regularly producing and sharing content. This could be via images, texts, videos or in person presentations. You don’t have to be perfect straight away. “Take imperfect action!”. This is about developing your voice, honing your technical abilities, and learning by your mistakes. If you apply yourself consistently you should be able to start building a growing following within a few months. The feedback you get and the increasing confidence with which you can create and deliver, will set you up nicely for Step 3. Step 3 is where you have become established with your routine, more relaxed and at ease about being visible and have learnt what works or doesn’t by experimenting with your style. If you want to, this is the time to widen your scope by re-purposing your content, or branching out with your approach and your way of communicating. It will basically happen naturally by systematically following step 2, but you should still stay focused on one main approach. Staying the course is what will give you the best chance of attaining ‘lift off’ and mean that most of your energy goes into productivity rather than endless indecision and re-starting. The key for your success now is simply to stay on topic, keep consistent, keep learning and adapting and watch how your reach widens, sometimes slowly and sometimes in sudden rapid bursts.

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Dinosaurs and Disasters Geocamp 2012

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Over the last two weeks, GNS Science, with support from the Todd Foundation, The Royal Society and the National Aquarium in Napier, has been running a ‘Dinosaurs and Disasters Geocamp’ for a group of Hawkes Bay Intermediate level students and teachers. The participants investigated many landforms and cliff sections around Hawkes Bay. GNS Science geologists Kyle Bland and Richard Levy also helped to organise and lead the Geocamp. In this photo they are encouraging the participants to look closely at a cliff section with fossils and structures above Lake Tutira that help explain the formation of the lake by a giant landslide. One of the participants Michael Young is showing a section of sediment core that we drilled out of the bed of Lake Tutira using a length of drainpipe, and then wrapped in clingfilm for transport back to our base at the Napier Aquarium. Kyle Bland is seen here, showing participants how sediment from Waipatiki Beach is washed and sieved so that it can be checked for microfossils. The two week geology immersion experience was created to open the eyes of young people, their schools and the local community to the wonders of the natural environment in their local area. It culminated in a two day expo created and run by the students to show their discoveries to the public. In the photo Phoenix Hancox-Thompson is introducing visitors to some of the activities. Here are a couple of videos that capture some of the activities and the enthusiasm of the participants. The first looks at some of the locations we visited: The second is a chance to learn geology from some very bright young geoscientists:

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Posters of Lake Rotomahana

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Here is a last look at the posters of Lake Rotomahana created by Rotorua Primary and Intermediate school children.The first image is the winning poster created by Kaya Henderson-Corporaal, Georgia Perham and Breannah Wakefield of Galatea School. We were particularly impressed by the careful detail and realism of features on the lake floor in this poster.  The second prize was shared by two students from Rerewhakaaitu School: Mark Sincalir and Paige Skipper. They each created a very colourful and artistic poster. These portray the whole atmosphere of the lake as well as a variety of hydrothermal features and rocks on the lake floor.  This is Westbrook School student Cassandra Kiff’s picture of what she thought may be found by the Rotomahana scientists. “Maybe the Pink and White Terraces?” She has also shown colourful bubbles and vents in the lake. Traci Benson of Owhata School created this small poster. She clearly related the present lake floor to the history of the Tarawera Eruption. A very colourful and eyecatching picture. There were many other posters that impressed us. Here is another look at some of the display in Rotorua Central Library. The posters have now been moved to the GNS Science building in Avalon, Lower Hutt where they are on display in the foyer. A big thank you to all the teachers, students and others involved in bringing this poster exhibition about, including Sue Heke and other staff at Rotorua Library, Jessie McKenzie of the Royal Society of New Zealand and Harvey James of Waimangu Volcanic Valley.

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Poster Prizewinners

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 Last week I toured a number of Rotorua Schools to show slides and to describe the rediscovery of the Pink Terraces as well as other results of the Rotomahana Project. Over three days I talked to over 1100 children. I also took the opportunity to present prizes to the winners of the Rotomahana Project Poster Competition. The Prizes were awarded to those students who had produced the  most eye catching posters, that also most accurately predicted what the scientists would discover in the lake.  It was very difficult to choose the winners because of the high standard of the posters that had been entered. A lot of effort had gone into the children’s creations. This photo shows the engagement and interest of the children in learning about the Rotomahana Project.    The youngest prizewinning scientists each won a Rotomahana Project baseball cap, a certificate and a family pass to a guided tour of the Waimangu Volcanic Valley as well as a boat cruise on Lake Rotomahana. In this picture, Traci Benson, age six, of Owhata School is getting her prize.   Cassandra Kiff of Westbrook School was also commended for her poster and won an award.   Second Overall Prize went to Rerewhakaaitu School students Paige Skipper and Mark Sinclair who produced visually outstanding  posters. They won a guided tour of the Waimangu Volcanic Valley for 30 students and teachers, as well as hats and certificates for themselves. There were many very high quality posters from this school.     First Prize for best poster went to a trio of Galatea School students Kaya, Georgia and Breannah. Their teacher Marylou has been very enthusiastic about this project and was delighted at the success of her students. Part of the first prize is a guided tour of Waimangu Volcanic Valley and also a boat cruise on Lake Rotomahana for 30 students and adults. This class produced a number of outstanding posters and it is fitting that they will all share in the prize. Well done!    

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Pink Terraces presentations for Rotorua Schools

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From Wednesday 16th February to Friday 18th, I will be touring Rotorua schools with a presentation about the Rotomahana Project. (If you haven’t caught up about this yet you can read an earlier blog post about it or watch this video). Contact me soon if you would like your school included – there are a couple of time slots still available as I write this. This is an opportunity for local school children to learn something of how scientists go about their work as well as the inside story of the Pink Terraces rediscovery. I will also be announcing the winners of the Poster Competition. – If you haven’t seen the posters yet, the exhibition in Rotorua Central Library is still open until Friday the 18th February. The variety and detail of the posters makes for a colourful collection. Some of them have also proved to be very accurate predictions of what the scientists actually found on the lake bed of Rotomahana! Picking winners has not been easy. Here is a photo of the project leader Cornel de Ronde having a careful look at the entries. Watch this space after next week to see which ones were selected and earned the fantastic prizes offered by Waimangu Volcanic Valley

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Rotorua kids show their inspiration about Lake Rotomahana

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The Rotorua Public Library has a display of about 70 posters created by Rotorua school children who have taken up the challenge of the GNS Science Poster Competition. Their challenge was to represent their prediction of what the Rotomahana Project scientists will discover in the next few days in their survey of the lake. There is a wonderful range of images and ideas of what may lie beneath the surface of Lake Rotomahana. I’m sure you will agree that it is a colourful and diverse display If you live somewhere near Rotorua or are passing through in the next two or three weeks, drop in for a look at the entries. The overall standard and impact of the posters is very high and shows that the children have really thought about what the scientists may find with the AUV survey being undertaken over the next week.It is going to be a tough job to choose some prizewinners! Scientists will make their choice based on visual impact and scientific accuracy in comparison with their survey results, and the verdict will be announced in mid February Meanwhile, the team is gathering in Rotorua, including scientists from GNS Science, Columbia, NOAA and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the US, the University of Waikato, Auckland University and Bayreuth University in Germany. There is also a film crew and a couple of TV news teams coming along for some or all of the time.Tomorrow our first engagement will be a formal welcome of scientists and visitors on the local Marae.

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NZ Volcano Fact Sheets

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The GNS Science website now has 10 one page Fact Sheets on the main New Zealand volcanoes. They give details of the landforms, rock types and eruption histories, with colourful images and diagrams.These are great for a school project, or to print off and take with you when you go for a tramp up one of our volcanoes. Don’t forget that there is lots of detailed volcano information on our website as well as webcams and updates of volcano activity levels on our GeoNet site. Watch a video of scientists monitoring White Island Volcano, or follow some students whilst they check out the amazing Volcanic Landforms of Tongariro.

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Rotomahana Fact Sheet

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To have some more background information on the Rotomahana project that you can print off and have at your fingertips, go here. It answers basic questions about the purpose of the project, the technology being used, and some of the scientific questions that will be answered by the investigation. The photo shows the offical party at the Prime MInister’s Science Prize ceremony in Auckland last weekend. Cornel is second from the right. He was awarded the prestigious prize for being the top science communicator of the year 2010.

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Rotorua Schools’ Tour

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I am in Rotorua this week visiting a number of the schools to tell the children about the Rotomahana Project. It is wonderful to witness the excitement and engagement of the kids, and the enthusiasm of the teachers helping them to learn about the unique history and geology of the local area. I have been describing some background of New Zealand’s volcanic landscapes, the reasons why scientists want to understand the geothermal activity, the history of the Tarawera Eruption of 1886 and also the way we will be investigating the lake with the Autonomous Underwater Vehicles. The photos show GNS Scientists at work studying our volcanoes and geothermal activity in New Zealand

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The Wellington Fault with LEARNZ

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LEARNZ is a unique kiwi organisation that runs ‘virtual’ field trips for primary and secondary schools in New Zealand. Using videos, audioconferences and internet based information, school kids are able to interact with scientists and other expert professionals in different parts of New Zealand. LEARNZ even runs virtual field trips to Scott Base in Antarctica. Last week, Shelley Hersey and Andrew Penny from LEARNZ were investigating the Wellington Fault. Russ van Dissen, Julia Becker and Hamish Campbell from GNS Science joined me to assist them. We looked at the way scientists work with planners and emergency services to understand the earthquake risk and prepare for the possibility of a ‘Big One’ striking Wellington. There is nothing like a detailed description of the potential impact of a natural disaster to remind you to re- check your personal Civil Defence emergency preparedness! In addition to the many other active fault lines in the region that could cause an earthquake, there is a small but real possibility of a Wellington Fault earthquake occurring. This would cause a rupture along the fault line with perhaps 5 metres of sideways movement and one or two metres of vertical dislocation. Houses built across the fault would be ripped apart, and the whole city shaken violently, resulting in severe building damage, streets full of glass and other debris, broken water, gas and electricity supplies, roads, railways and the ferry terminal out of action and communications largely cut off. Did you click on that emergency preparedness link yet? Over three days we visited a number of city viewpoints and structures, the emergency operations centre of the Wellington Regional Council, the fault line itself, and the water supply lakes at Te Marua. It was reassuring to see how much thought and effort has been put into planning for the earthquake risk by the authorities. In this photo of the place where the fault runs right below the Thorndon overbridge and the Wellington Railway, you can see the steel re-inforcement casings around the motorway support pillars and the large concrete slabs that are designed to prevent the motorway segments from collapsing. The take home message is very much that local government and other organisations are doing their bit, and it is up to us individuals to make sure that we have our personal survival plans in place as well. Over one hundred school classes participated in the event. The GNS Science website has a lot of information about the Wellington Fault, including a tour guide, a fault line field trip, a photo gallery , a Google Earth flyby video as well as our Wellington Fault short doco movie:

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