Written evidence submitted by the National Schools’ Observatory (NSO) (COM0018)
This submission is made on behalf of the National Schools’ Observatory (NSO) project by:
Professor Andy Newsam (NSO Director, Liverpool John Moores University)
Dr Stacey Habergham (NSO Project Manager, LJMU)
Professor Mike Bode (Chair, NSO Board, LJMU)
We set out below our responses to the issues as set out in the invitation to submit evidence to the committee.
Summary:
a) The trends in attitudes to science, and public engagement with science.
1. Recent years have undoubtedly seen an increase in interest in science among the general public, fostered for example by significant broadcast programme time given to individuals such as Prof Brian Cox and Prof Jim Al Khalili, who are both professional scientists and excellent communicators. Popular programmes such as ‘The IT Crowd’ and more recently ‘The Big Bang Theory’ have also engaged younger audiences in particular and helped to address the stigma often attached to studying the sciences.
2. Nevertheless there is also a dangerous trend of ‘anti-scientific’ thought as typified by the debates over climate change through to the MMR vaccine. If this trend is to be reversed, a better understanding of the scientific method, not just its results, is important. Here the ‘blue-skies’ sciences (such as physics and astronomy) have an important role as they can explore the scientific process without many of the complicating ethical issues of more applied sciences.
b) The balance of effort needed to increase public engagement in science by ‘new audiences’ and by the ‘already interested’.
3. We believe there is a need to shift the focus of Public Engagement to ‘new audiences’. There are still many groups in society who are under-represented among those studying science on the one hand and professional scientists on the other. These include ethnic minorities, disadvantaged socio-economic groups, those with disabilities, and (in the physical sciences in particular) women. Currently, the focus within the HE sector for example is on those already interested in science, driven by short-term recruitment targets.
4. Astronomy has an important role in reaching new audiences as studies show that this is the science that best breaks down these cultural and socioeconomic barriers (see e.g. Pupils’ and Parents’ Views of the School Science Curriculum. Osbourne and Collins, 2000). This is explicitly exploited by many STEMM education and engagement projects that use the widespread public interest in astronomy as an initial ‘hook’. For example, our own National Schools' Observatory project (NSO - see http://www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk ), which gives schools free access over the internet to the world's largest robotic telescope (with over 2500 UK schools participating and over 100,000 observing requests delivered to them), has a strategic plan that focuses on targetted under-represented groups.
c) Any further steps needed by the media and broadcasters to improve the quality, accessibility and balance of their science coverage; and science coverage in broadcasters’ programme-making.
5. We would urge broadcasters to use more UK-based scientists from a diverse range of backgrounds in programmes. There is still a strong tendency for example to invite US scientists to have input to programmes where a UK-based scientist could have equally well contributed.
d) The communications strategies being taken to encourage young people to study STEM subjects in higher and further education, and to encourage those people towards STEM careers.
6. Currently, STEMM engagement tends to be delivered on a subject-by-subject basis. A more strategic, cross-STEMM approach is needed since all STEMM areas are interdependent and future STEMM careers will increasingly span several subject areas.
e) The extent to which public dialogue and consultation is being effectively used by government in science and technology areas of policy-making.
[We have no specific comments here.]
f) The strategies and actions being taken by Government to foster public engagement and trust of science more widely, and high quality reporting of science in the media.
7. In our own area of science, the Public Engagement Programme of the Science and Technology Facilities Council deserves special praise. For a very small fraction of the Council’s overall budget, in cooperation with the scientific research community, the mass media, educational organisations, and communications professionals, it has successfully engaged a large and diverse set of audiences with cutting-edge UK-led research and technological development.
8. An example of a Public Engagement project reaching a very large, diverse and new audience was the ‘NSO Dark Matter Garden’ exhibited at RHS Chelsea 2015 (see https://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/rhs-chelsea-flower-show/exhibitors/archive/2015/gardens/dark-matter-garden which includes a short explanatory video). This was delivered via a partnership between STFC, Liverpool John Moores University/NSO and commercial concerns (Howard Miller Design and Landstruction). The garden explained, using architectural forms and associated planting, how we know via ‘gravitational lensing’ that the overwhelming majority of the matter content of the Universe comprises otherwise invisible Dark Matter. It was also very fitting that the garden was exhibited in the centenary year of the publication of Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity.
9. The garden not only won an RHS Gold Medal but was also awarded Best in Category (there only being 3 categories of garden at the show). In terms of those reached, the total attendance at RHS Chelsea 2015 was 165,000 (over 70% women) with a global aggregate TV audience independently estimated at 211 million (the garden featured on BBC TV every night of the show for example). The Dark Matter Garden features as a highlight of STFC’s 2015 ‘Impact Report’ (see http://www.stfc.ac.uk/files/impact-report-2015/) and as a lasting legacy, with STFC support, the garden is now on permanent display at STFC’s Daresbury Laboratory.
10. In terms of the wider picture, referring to the funding by Government of educational projects based around research facilities, the May 2011 report of the Commons S&T Committee inquiry into Astronomy and Particle Physics had among its conclusions that it is important to “overcome the 'silo mentality' which we found still pervades government and means relatively cost-effective educational research projects, such as the National Schools Observatory, which are so important to inspiring the next generation of scientists, risk being lost.” We believe that unfortunately there has been little substantial progress on this front however since 2011.