Unweaving the Rainbow: exploring colour with art and synchrotron radiation

该项目旨在让公众参与谢菲尔德集团利用STFC支持的中央设施--特别是同步辐射--产生的科学，以探索鸟类羽毛和蝴蝶翅膀等生物结构中结构颜色的来源。这项提案将长期成功使用STFC设施的科学家与一名执业艺术家结合在一起，后者已经在公众参与多个不同领域的研究方面有着出色的记录，特别是在学校工作。该项目将通过将艺术和科学观众聚集在一起，并通过吸引来自南约克郡学校的一批小学末期和初级中学学生来显著发展和增强科学资本。科学主题提供了一种不同的、新颖的方式来吸引观众，方法是采用非常熟悉的概念-颜色的概念，以及我们对色彩鲜艳的鸟类和昆虫的体验-并说明我们强大的新技术，如同步辐射散射和纳米断层成像，如何将这些与迄今未见的纳米世界联系起来。艺术家和诗人的参与使人们对科学实践的本质有了意想不到的见解3)重点将放在南约克郡和其他地方现有科学资本水平较低的观众身上，包括由4所当地学校组成的队列。通过这种积极的参与过程，我们的观众将更充分地理解光的复杂性质--如何通过吸收、反射和折射来感知颜色。该项目还将通过探索和解释STFC设施如何打开正常人类体验之外的长度尺度，进一步了解在“非常小”和“非常大”的领域发生了什么。这些目标将主要通过我们的巡回活动计划实现，该计划基于保罗·埃文斯最近作为驻场艺术家研究的新作品和现有作品，以及基于谢菲尔德大学科学家在欧洲同步加速器研究机构(ESRF)、ISIS和RAL进行的实验图像的新作品。将在展品中展出的大部分艺术品，主要基于光子结构，将通过为南约克郡学校设计和领导创意工作坊/探索日的外展计划来创作，该计划将由项目艺术家保罗·埃文斯和谢菲尔德大学的科学家共同设计和领导。这一创新而引人入胜的活动计划将包括3D打印的蒙眼绘制/建模，面向年轻学生的按数字着色活动，创造性写作，以及基于艺术家在ESRF观察到的抽样程序以及目前正在ISIS和RAL进行的尖端研究的灵活性测试/游戏。年轻人在这些研讨会期间创作的艺术也将受到来自同步加速器研究的科学图像在线画廊的启发：http://www.esrf.eu/home/news/beauty-of-science.html和来自钻石和ISIS的类似材料。为促进相关活动，交付团队将在2017年秋冬期间巡视英格兰北部的多个场馆/活动。该项目将得到谢菲尔德大学公众参与和影响小组的全程支持。

This project aims to engage the public with the science emerging from the Sheffield group's use of STFC supported central facilities - particularly synchrotron radiation - to probe the origins of structural colour in biological structures such as bird feathers and butterfly wings. The proposal brings together scientists with a long record of successful use of STFC facilities with a practising artist who already has an existing outstanding track record of public engagement with research in a number of different fields, especially working in schools. The project will significantly develop and enhance science capital by drawing together arts and science audiences and by involving a cohort of late primary and early secondary pupils from South Yorkshire schools.Key features:i.) The science topic offers a different and novel way of engaging audiences by taking very familiar concepts - the notion of colour, and our experience of brightly coloured birds and insects - and illustrating how our powerful new techniques like synchrotron radiation scattering and nano-tomography can relate those to the hitherto unseen nanoscale world.ii.) Engagement of artists and poets gives unexpected insights into the nature of scientific practiseiii.) The focus will be on audiences with low existing levels of science capital, in South Yorkshire and elsewhere, including a cohort of 4 local schoolsThrough this active process of engagement our audiences will gain a fuller understanding of the complex nature of light - how colour is perceived though absorption reflection and refraction. The project will also further understanding of what happens in the realm of the 'very small' and the 'very big', through the exploration and explanation of how STFC facilities open up access to length scales outside normal human experience.These aims will primarily be achieved through our touring event programme based on a 'pop-up portfolio' of new and existing works based on Paul Evans' recent work as artist in residence research - and new work based on images from experiments undertaken by The University of Sheffield scientists at the European Synchrotron Research Facility (ESRF), ISIS and RAL. Much of the artwork to be displayed in the portfolio, primarily based on photonic structures, will be created through an outreach programme of creative workshops/discovery days for South Yorkshire schools that will be devised and led by the project artist Paul Evans along with University of Sheffield scientists. This innovative and engaging programme of activities will include blindfold drawing/modelling of 3d prints, colour by numbers activities for younger students, creative writing, and dexterity tests/games based on sampling procedures that the artist observed at the ESRF and cutting edge research that is currently being undertaken at ISIS and RAL.Art created by the young people during these workshops will also be informed by 'The Beauty of Science' - ESRF's online gallery of scientific images from synchrotron research: http://www.esrf.eu/home/news/beauty-of-science.html and similar material from Diamond and ISISThe portfolio, and the delivery team that will facilitate its associated activities, will tour a number of venues/events throughout the north of England during Autumn/Winter 2017. The project will be supported throughout by the University of Sheffield Public Engagement and Impact Team.