Written evidence submitted by Hilary Ashton (COM0109)
I am writing this in response to an email that came round at work from UK Parliament’s Outreach and Engagement Service (outreach@parliament.uk) asking various questions on how science is communicated.
- Not seen any adverts. Might be good to advertise Uni courses at the appropriate time of year, outlining what students can do, what’s available etc.
- I think there’s been upsurge in accessible science TV programmes in recent years (Dr Cox, Dara O’Brien) which has raised awareness and developed interest.
- I stayed at a hotel in Northumbria which has its own observatory (Battlesteads Hotel, Wark) – found out about it via Groupon deal. It was a really clear night in February so was AMAZING and I told lots of people about it, two of whom will probably go. It was situated in a designated “clear skies” area. This raised awareness for my husband and I and we discovered there’s another observatory near Kielder Water, Northumberland as a result, which we may visit later.
- My nephew is an astrophysicist – took a degree then a Masters and despite being as brainy as, has gone into specialised IT as he says it’s too competitive to get into astrophysics. Perhaps there could be more support available for those wishing to follow this career if it’s a government priority.
- I sometimes go to museums about science. The Eureka museum in Halifax is absolutely brilliant for hands-on stuff for kids. Perhaps there should be a museum for teenagers/adults along those lines in the North. Most investment is in the south, and I’m speaking as a southerner who’s moved north.
- I was really switched off by science when in school (a long time ago!) as it was so boring, but I’m far more interested in it now. Linking science in schools to applications in the real world and doing fun experiments is a good way to engage kids, in my opinion.
June 2016