Engaging teenagers in science by the 'back door'

我们选择通过培训40名具有公众参与技能的年轻博士科学家，并提供一个支持性的结构化计划，将英国科学研究的兴奋和价值传达给公众（主要是目前被科学“关闭”的13-18奥尔兹），并在其中他们将以小组或个人的形式开展两次后续公众参与活动。为了测试计划方法的可行性，我们获得了EPSRC资助（“解释化学/生物学界面：网络和评估阶段，”EP/D504503/1），以准备当前的提案。这笔赠款提供了资金，以建立和提供一个定制的培训课程，在“科学传播”。获奖者进行了广泛的咨询，并最终与帝国理工学院的科学传播小组（SCG）合作开发了这门课程。两个成功的原型课程已交付给在帝国和沃里克博士培训中心注册的二年级博士生。博士生在我们的原型培训计划中表现出的独创性和热情令人瞩目，并反映在产出的质量上。因此，我们相信，我们有一个成功的模板，可以为更广泛的青年科学家在他们的职业生涯开始时开发。新加坡政府已欣然同意与申请人合作，扩大课程范围，加入两项具体的公众参与任务，作为每位参与者的跟进工作，并在他们执行任务时提供支持。目前建议的重点是将现有的培训课程与第二阶段的公众参与结合起来。2007年11月28日，我们与阿斯利康、考文垂商业和教育伙伴关系、沃里克大学化学系和Finham中学合作，在理光考文垂城市足球俱乐部举办了一场试点“CSI活动”。我们选择把我们的活动集中在那些目前对科学不感兴趣，但对媒体等其他领域更感兴趣的孩子身上。20个孩子都能说出3个足球运动员的名字，却不能说出3个科学家的名字！这次活动是由以前参加过帝国“科学传播课程”的工作人员举办的。主要目的是确定帝国科学传播课程是否能够证明有足够的培训来举办这种类型的公众参与活动。学生们被分成两组，每组10人，并被赋予一个角色（例如警察、记者、科学家），并通过演示、电影和亲身体验接触分析科学。然后，他们被介绍到一个“谋杀现场”，并收集适当的证据（DNA，微量残留物等），采访嫌疑人，分析证据，作为一个团队工作，解决谋杀案，并建立一个报纸文章。因此，主要兴趣在科学之外的儿童能够在活动期间发挥积极作用（即担任记者）。这些孩子接触到科学的“秘密”，因为他们需要在理解科学方面发挥积极作用，以便在报纸上发表相关文章。这次活动的成功向我们证明，我们可以根据从帝国媒体课程中获得的培训，成功地举办公众参与活动。为此，我们建议分两个阶段进行。第一阶段：举办两个培训课程（遵循已在EPSRC赠款EP/D504503/1下试行的成功模式）;第2阶段：为每个参与者设定两项具体的公众参与任务，并在他们执行任务时给予支持。这将包括与考文垂商业和教育伙伴关系的7天活动，与帝国研究人员居住计划的10次活动，与皇家化学学会举办3次活动，40个科学博客和新闻稿，8名学生专注于准备短视频和播客，以支持这些活动。

We have chosen to address the issue of communicating the excitement and value of UK scientific research to the general public (primarily 13-18 years olds currently 'turned off' by science) by training 40 young PhD scientists with public engagement skills and providing a supportive structured programme in which they will undertake TWO follow-up public engagement events either in groups or individually. To test the feasibility of the planned approach we were awarded an EPSRC grant ('Explaining the Chemistry/Biology Interface: Networking and Evaluation Phase,' EP/D504503/1) to prepare for this current proposal. This grant provided funds to construct and deliver a customised training course in 'science communication'. The award holders consulted widely and ultimately developed the course in collaboration with the Science Communication Group (SCG) at Imperial College. Two successful prototype courses have been delivered to 2nd year PhD students registered at the Imperial and Warwick Doctoral Training Centres. The ingenuity and enthusiasm exhibited by the PhD students on our prototype training programmes was remarkable and is reflected in the quality of the output. We are therefore confident that we have a successful template that can be developed for a wider audience of young scientists near the beginning of their careers. SCG has readily agreed to partner the applicants in expanding the course to include two specific public engagement tasks as a follow-up for each participant and support them as they execute it. The coupling of the existing training course with this second phase of public engagement is the focus of this current proposal. On the 28th of November 2007 we staged a pilot 'CSI event', staged at the Ricoh Coventry City Football Club, in collaboration with AstraZeneca, the Coventry Business and Education Partnership, Warwick University Chemistry Department and Finham Secondary School. We chose to focus our event on children who were currently not 'turned on' by science but were more interested in other areas such as the media. All twenty children could name three footballers but not name three scientists! The event was run by staff who had had previously undertaken the Imperial 'Science Communication Course'. The primary aim was to determine if the Imperial Science Communication Course would prove adequate training to stage this type of public engagement event. The school children were arranged in two groups of ten and given a role (e.g. Policeman, Reporter, Scientist) and were exposed to a mixture of analytical science via presentations, film and hands on experience. They were then introduced to a 'murder scene' and had to collect appropriate evidence (DNA, trace-residue etc.), interview suspects, analyse the evidence, work as a team, solve the murder and construct a newspaper article. Thus children whose main interest lay outside of science were able to take an active role during the event (i.e. taking the role of journalist). These children were exposed to the science 'clandestinely' as they needed to play an active role in understanding the science in order to make their relevant newspaper article. The success of this event has proved to us that we can deliver successful public engagement events based upon the training obtained from Imperial media course.To this end we propose a two phase programmePhase 1: Deliver two training courses (following the successful model already piloted under EPSRC grant EP/D504503/1);Phase 2: Set TWO specific public engagement tasks for each participant and support them as they execute it. These will include 7 days of events with the Coventry Business and Education Partnerships, 10 events with the Imperial Researchers in Residence Scheme, 3 events with the Royal Society of Chemistry, 40 science blogs and press releases and 8 students focussing on the preparation of short videos and pod-casts to support these events.