Promoting science in Second Life's on-line world

The on-line simulation of the world that is Second Life was home to some a dramatic science demonstration recently as sections of it were "flooded" (virtually) as part of a campaign to raise awareness climate change.



Like it or not, climate change is the big science story of the moment, and although this stunt (in the positive sense of the word!) was pioneered by an environmentalist it shows the impact that science-based content from scientists could have. Rumour has it at least one Irish science outreach programme is planning to setup shop on Second Life too.



National Geographic News has more information on the virtual flood:

Tokyo, Amsterdam, and the entire Mediterranean island of Ibiza were inundated with floodwaters today due to rising sea levels brought on by global warming.



Or at least, that would have been the headline if events in the virtual world Second Life mirrored reality.

A rolling flood temporarily swamped several areas of the online world as part of a campaign to illustrate the potential environmental and financial impacts of climate change.

"Our message was, You may have a second life, but [you still need to] offset your second life in real life," said David de Rothschild, a London-based environmentalist and adventurer whose nonprofit Adventure Ecology helped stage today's flood.

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Upcoming Science Communication Conference

From the BA Website in the UK comes news of their 2007 Science Communication Conference...

The conference seeks to address the key issues facing science communicators in the UK.

In 2007, it will take place over 2 days with the second day focusing on climate change and the first on more generic and varied aspects of public engagement. Each day the conference will run sessions in three strands - engaging to inspire & educate, engaging to involve and engaging through the media & PR.

Date: 14 & 15 May 2007

Venue: The Institution of Engineering & Technology, Savoy Place, London

Specifically, the conference aims to

• demonstrate and discuss the contribution science communication activities are making to the various broadly-shared strategic aims for public engagement
• raise awareness of new developments
• promote greater understanding and cohesion amongst those working in science, technology and engineering communications
• provide opportunities to network, share ideas and good practice

The conference is aimed at key people engaged in science communication, including policy makers, professionals and academics, in government, research institutions, universities, industry and business, the media, PR, science centres and museums, science education, funding organisations, learned institutions, NGOs and research charities.

The conference is jointly organised by the BA and the Royal Society.

Bernard Schiele makes some interesting comments in the December 2006 issue of RTD info magazine (which for some bizarre reason only arrived in my letterbox today late in February 2007!).

This RTD info "magazine of European Research" from the European Commission often has interesting articles, and the interview with Bernard Schiele gives an insight into some of the challenges faced by the media when covering science. He's a member of the PCST (Public Communication of Science and Technology) scientific committee and a Professor in the Communications Faculty of the University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM), and he points out that:

the media are often in a difficult position [...] They often bemoan the researcher's lack of talent in the art of communication, but at the same time that justifies their own role. Nevertheless, whenever they find a scientist who seems to be at ease and has a certain 'aura', the media are quick enough to call on that person for every topic [...]

He also discusses briefly the changing role of museums / science centres and he has this to say on the topic:

Museums’ treatment of science is undergoing a “cultural revolution”. The new centres are placing an emphasis on the relationship with communication, producing interactive exhibits that are both educational and playful in order to capture the attention of visitors and concentrate on the technical and industrial realisation of the research, but that did not count on the questions of a public that does not necessarily want all the answers, but does want to be able to contemplate.

Museum directors are, therefore, torn between a new relationship between science and society, which suggests to them that science should be depicted just as it is, a more critical general public, and pressure from the cultural sector towards consumption. Fortunately, they also know that while they can never compete with Disneyland, they will never return to a rose-tinted view of progress. It is maybe this frame of mind that tells us that making an effort in scientific communication can bear fruit…

This analysis is of particular relevance to Ireland now that the exciting plans for the Exploration Station science centre to be based in Dublin have recently been launched...

Science needs to get better at marketing

I first heard about Google cofounder Larry Page's comments on how scientists should be communicating on the really useful Sciencecommunication.org blog. CNN has a Reuters story with more details including the following amusing quote:

"There are lots of people who specialize in marketing, but as far as I can tell, none of them work for you," Page told researchers at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science late on Friday.

He has a point - a lot of science communication is really about finding innovative ways of marketing science to various target audiences - be it school children or funding agencies. And that's ok.