Written evidence submitted by At-Bristol Science Centre (COM0047)

Reason for submission: to ensure that the valuable role and potential of science centres such as At-Bristol Science Centre is recognised in the science communication landscape. Collectively science centres have 20 million visits per year from the general public including large schools audiences; they deliver science communication on a daily basis through a range of exhibitions and activities.

Executive Summary

Introduction

  1. At-Bristol Science Centre is a hands-on science centre open to the public our vision is to ‘make science accessible to all’. We use our facilities and talented and enthusiastic team of graduate and post graduate scientists to engage and excite everyone about science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM); we want to ignite curiosity and use innovation to inspire the multidisciplinary entrepreneurs and people of the future.
  2. At-Bristol was initially funded by the Millennium Commission, Bristol City Council, the Regional Development Agency and local businesses; we are an independent educational charity and have grown substantially since opening in the year 2000, we now have 304,000 visitors each year, 62,000 of which are visiting schools. Central Government does not provide any ongoing financial support to the charity which survives by self generated and fundraised income. The building houses more than 250 interactive exhibits that allow visitors to get hands-on with a range of STEM topics. As well as the exhibits (which are designed and built in-house) there are 3 areas of the exhibition where our staff lead participatory hands-on science demonstrations including brain dissection, flight workshops, taste tests and simple circuitry. There are daily science shows featuring exciting experiments, and last year we added the UK’s only 3D, 4K planetarium where our team of presenters take visitors on flights through the universe.
  3. Our audience segments start with pre-school toddlers and their ‘Toddler Takeover’ days; families; schools – both primary and secondary, teachers and finally adults, where we host ‘After Hours’ evenings, a chance to explore the exhibition and get hands-on with science over a glass of wine with friends.
  4. As well as our visitors we work with the local universities to support their need to deliver public engagement activities, hosting a range of events and ‘Meet the Expert’ sessions where researchers, supported by the science communication expertise of At-Bristol staff, meet visitors to share their work. The facilities of the 3D planetarium are shared between its traditional use exploring the universe revealing the inspiring science of astronomy and cosmology, and as a unique immersive environment for data visualisation. Data visualisation projections on the 12 metre diameter domed screen can engage audiences in the air quality, or health data for the city, help university researchers make sense of huge datasets and allow commercial businesses to analyse their own data. Much of this data visualisation can be shown to public audiences.

Trends in public engagement with science

  1. For more than 40 years Science Centres have acted as venues where the public can access science; this role continues to be extremely important, but there are now many other ways for people to investigate and discover scientific content, Google, on-line education platforms, media streaming, apps, podcasts and educational TV, to name but a few. Therefore, members of the public who have been exposed to some new science content have the ability to follow-up online very easily. Public engagement activities need to take this into account in two ways: 1) ensure that the content and style of presentation inspires the desire to explore further, and 2) provide good online resources for those wishing to dig deeper into the topic.
  2. At-Bristol Science Centre is embracing this change by focusing on inspiring curiosity about science topics and using technology in the venue to record personalised visitor interactions, upload them to a server which can be accessed online at home (or in school) after a visit – at this point visitors can be directed to other useful and high quality resources to help them explore the topic further.

Pubic Engagement with new audiences

  1. Similar to many other Science Centres in the UK, At Bristol Science Centre is a charity, it has a vision of ‘making science accessible to all’ and as such it looks beyond the usual audiences. A significant proportion of the most disadvantaged members of our community does not visit and does not engage with science. At-Bristol Science Centre is addressing this by targeting the six most disadvantaged wards of Bristol and inviting residents from those areas to visit free of charge at our Community Open Weekends. The number of these weekends is limited by the balance between free of charge community visits and income generating visits from other parts of the community, but At-Bristol puts significant effort into the need to be inclusive, in all parts of the operation. Growth in this work is dependent on the availability of funding.

Encouraging Young People into STEM

  1. One of At-Bristol Science Centre’s key objectives is to inspire young people to follow the STEM subjects. We do this by developing a range of workshops and activities that enhance and enrich the National Curriculum and by delivering engaging, exciting and memorable science experiences ranging from heart dissection to exploring the universe in our planetarium. In addition our staff and volunteers, many of whom have recently graduated in the STEM subjects, act as enthusiastic role models as they help visitors get the most out of their hands-on experiences. We also run a ‘Meet the Expert’ programme where experts from industry and academia come into the venue and lead activities with the visitors. With the help of the science communication expertise of our staff, industry experts show the STEM subjects in action in their careers, and academic researchers reveal the latest advances in their field, this shows how science works and that it is a career option for ordinary people. Exposure to real-world applications of the STEM subjects in the world of work engages, informs and inspires young people to consider further STEM studies and technical careers.

Government strategies to foster public engagement

  1. UK Science Centres (co-ordinated by the Association for Science and Discovery Centres) already have a very large audience of 20 million people per year and they have highly developed skills in science communication, presenting science in engaging and inspiring ways; these interactions are the largest face-to-face interface between science and the public in the UK. Science Centres are also viewed by the public as neutral trusted environments where they can learn more about a topic of interest without fear of political bias. All of the Science Centres have well-developed relationships with their local universities and industrial neighbours. This network could be used to greater effect by the Government to bring emerging science to public audiences and to broaden the appeal of science across society. The Science Centres are geographically spread throughout the UK; they already have the infrastructure to welcome visitors and they are staffed by people trained in science communication.

If required I am happy to give evidence to this enquiry.

 

April 2016