Scientists and Adventurers: a new kind of partnership

White water rafting your sort of thing? How about hiking, biking, gliding or snow-boarding?

Just about any activity that takes you into the great outdoors can also be an opportunity to contribute to science.

Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation (ASC)  is an American organisation set up in 2010. Its mission is to improve the accessibility of scientific knowledge through partnerships between adventure athletes and scientists. It wants (amongst other things) to create “an army of citizen scientists” and to give adventurers the tools to make an impact on the natural environment they enjoy.

Many projects do indeed require you to be a real “adventure athlete”, such as the Ice Worm study for anyone exploring glaciers. However some projects are accessible to most people, for example collecting millipedes or identifying the very invasive garlic mustard plant, which is threatening plant species worldwide.

Adventurers get a lot out of these projects, which can make a hike to the highest mountain more meaningful, and perhaps even more challenging. Scientists get  access to more information than they would otherwise have considered possible.

Read more about this fantastic project at http://www.adventureandscience.org/. There is also an interview with the founder Gregg Treinish in New Scientist magazine here.

Have a good weekend, and perhaps think about doing a bit of science research if you are out enjoying the great outdoors!

Public engagement at the Zoo: does it work?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zoos are great; everyone loves them, especially children. They attract thousands of visitors from all social classes, age-groups and walks of life. Does this mean they are a good place for engaging people in research? Yes, according to a new paper published by researchers from Scottish universities of Stirling and St Andrews. The researchers are based at the “Living links to Human Evolution Research Centre”  at Edinburgh Zoo and carry out research into primate behaviour. The Living Links centre has a significant programme of engagement activities, including platforms where the public can view researchers working with the animals. Now, as well as studying animals, the researchers have also used novel ways of monitoring the behaviour of  zoo visitors in order to establish how  effective their engagement activities actually are.

These studies have revealed some interesting facts. For example, group size is a key factor in determining how long people stay within in the public engagement area. The larger the group, the longer people stayed.  Surprisingly the number of children present made no difference in this respect. Watching research live  (i.e. people studying monkeys) was far and away the most popular activity.

Disappointingly, one third of visitors did not visit the centre at all. Disappointing, but perhaps not surprising considering the broad make-up of zoo visitors. Visitors at zoos far out-number visitors to science centres or science museums, but are less likely to be inherently interested in science. Also the paper points out that many people make repeat visits to zoos, a factor not taken into account in the statistics. New innovations and interactive exhibits have significantly increased the time people spend at various exhibits, but only amongst the visitors already interested. It appears something new will be needed to reach out to the third who are not engaged at all.

These researchers, along with many others, recognise that it is vital that engagement activities are monitored and assessed. We need to know what works and what doesn’t, and to share the experiences with others. And it seems that for the majority of people, a trip to the zoo is one good way to find out a little more about  biological science.

Photograph of researchers  working with squirrel monkeys in the research room cubicles at the Living Links Centre at Edinburgh Zoo.

Link to centre: http://www.living-links.org/

Link to Zoo: http://www.edinburghzoo.org.uk/attractions/livinglinks/livinglinksresearch.html

Link to paper:http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0034505

 

Titanic och teknikoptimismen

I dag är det 100 år sedan Titanic for ut på sin första – och enda – resa. Världens då mest osänkbara skepp förliste bara fem dagar senare efter en kollision med ett isberg.

”Titanic var den första stora teknikkatastrofen” säger en etnolog som intervjuas på vetenskapssidorna i påskdagens DN, som en förklaring till varför katastrofen fascinerar så än i dag. I en tid av enorm tilltro till teknikens möjligheter att underlätta och förbättra människors vardag var katastrofen förstås en stor nyhet. Den torde dock inte ha lett till någon omedelbart minskad optimism om teknikens möjligheter.

Även i dag är tilltron till teknikens och vetenskapens möjligheter att förbättra livet stark. I våra undersökningar svarar nästan 80 procent att den tekniska utvecklingen de senaste 10-20 åren gjort livet bättre eller mycket bättre (Se VA-barometern 2010/11, sid 14-15). Inställningen till den

vetenskapliga utvecklingen är ungefär lika positiv, och så har det med små variationer sett ut under hela den senaste tioårsperioden.

Under 70- och 80-talen, däremot, var svenskarna klart mindre positiva till den tekniska utvecklingen. Då svarade bara cirka 60 procent att den gjort livet bättre. Efter den starka teknikoptimismen i början av 1900-talet hade då utvecklingens baksidor, som t.ex. miljöförstöring, på allvar gjort sig påminda. I Sverige var försurning, säldöd och rädsla för kärnkraftsolyckor stora frågor (Harrisburgolyckan inträffade 1979, och folkomröstningen om kärnkraft i Sverige hölls 1980). Tekniken sågs som orsaken till våra problem. I dag ser vi snarare tekniken som lösningen på problemen – precis som man gjorde i den tid då Titanic stävade ut från Southamptons hamn.

Jag bodde och jobbade under en period i Belfast, men jag hörde aldrig någon där tala om Titanic. Därför skulle jag väldigt gärna vilja åka tillbaka dit nu när det nya ”Titanic Belfast” invigts. Förhoppningsvis kan historien om det fantastiska skeppet hjälpa människorna som bor i staden att åtminstone för en stund skaka av sig ”The Troubles”.

 

Slutligen vill jag tipsa om ännu ett plock ur min påskläsning, nämligen denna tänkvärda samling av citat om vad vetenskap egentligen är, signerad Maria Popova.

Jag tror att mitt visdomsord för dagen i dag får bli detta av Marie Curie:

One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done…

 

/Karin Hermansson