Science Can Be Funny But………………..

Friday, October 30th, 2020 | STEPHEN BRONI | No Comments

……..can science comedy also be an effective tool  for  enhancing  understanding and support for science?

Science and comedy may seem like an odd pairing.  Science is a serious business, right?  And everyone’s sense of humour is different. Does science comedy work as a tool for communicating science effectively to a public audience.

In this short blog I make no claims or draw any conclusions.
Rather we are just going to dip our toes into the world of science comedy by looking at a few examples of `comedic science’ and let you come to your own conclusions as to whether you think comedy can be a tool to enhancing understanding  of science in a public audience.

Do science comedians rely on a pre-knowledge of science and/or a specific topic?

How does/could/ comedy enhance the understanding & support for science in a non-scientific public audience?

Check out some of these science comedians and more and you decide

Science Laughs :Brian Malow
‘A Virus Walks Into a Bar…’ and Other Science Jokes

Scientist Turned Comedian: Tim Lee

Science Comedian Vince Ebert | Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2017  

Science doesn’t know everything: Dara O’Briain

All of the above a background in science- Dara O’Briain  for example has a degree in mathematics and theoretical physics from University College Dublin and besides stand-up comedy has presented a number of science shows for BBC including School of Hard Sums, Dara Ó Briain’s Science Club)

Sneaking Science into Stand-Up: Kasha Patel
NASA Science Writer, stand-up comedian and founder of ‘DC Science Comedy’ Kasha Patel actually researches the effectiveness of her own science comedy by analysing over 500 of her science jokes as she explains in her 2019 TEDx talk.

Closer to home Andrew Scott from  Otago University School of Science Communication looked at Science comedy  for his Master’s degree  entitled Funnily Serious: Using Comedy  to communicate Science”  part of which included a   comedic science film entitled Tangled Waters  looking at the use of ant-shark nets along the Dunedin coastline. (Maybe I shouldn’t have put this in ahead of possible beach visit at upcoming December Camp!)

Want to dive further in the world of Science comedy?
Check out  Crastina’s International List of Science Comedians

Finally, if you come across an example of science comedy that you think does a really good job of enhancing understanding and/or support for science let me know in the comments.

Enjoy and good luck with your upcoming NCEA external exams.

 

                                             Graphic:https://www.stemmayhem.com/funny-science-jokes/ 

Keep it simple…

Tuesday, February 28th, 2017 | EMILY HALL | No Comments

Venue for the ASC 2017 conference – the Science Exchange in Adelaide, Australia

Last night I returned home to Dunedin from Adelaide. I was attending the 9th annual Australian Science Communicators conference where I had a presentation to give and also a poster in the gallery. The conference was amazing and I learned a lot which will be shared over the coming weeks.

On the weekend after the conference I stayed in Adelaide and visited a number of the city’s attractions. It may have been the conference leaving Science Communication in the forefront of my mind but I found myself analysing each one in terms of good communication and engagement. There is still a LOT of static displays and writing to explain displayed artefacts in museums. In one of the conference presentations, a panel tried to address this – but by far the most effective presentations were the ones that were interactive.

Activity at the Migration Museum in Adelaide

One very simple example of this was the crosswalk activity that I encountered at the Migration Museum. The exhibit was meant to show how immigration policies in the first half of the 1900s favoured a certain type of migrant (white and British). Instead of screeds of writing and examples or even just a small statement, there was a large crosswalk on the wall. You read a description of someone who wanted to come to Australia at the time and then pushed the crosswalk button. The walk man lit up if they could immigrate, the don’t walk sign lit up if they couldn’t and a yellow traffic light was a maybe. A small lit up explanation of why that particular person could or couldn’t migrate was also displayed.

I think this was a brilliant example of how a simple metaphor (the crosswalk) was used to make information very relevant. Everyone crosses the street, imagine not being able to cross the street because of your race or circumstances. It certainly made me think about immigration and the effect of policy on people at that time. The setup was also engaging. I probably would have walked past a panel of the same information if it had just been written up on the wall.

So over the coming weeks I’ll share more of what I learned in Adelaide but my learning for today is the power of the simple metaphor. Finding something your audience relates to and use it to convey your message.