As VA knows there is no better way of having dialogue with the public than to talk with them directly. And some scientists from London Zoo were doing just this last week in impressive fashion.
Fifteen brave scientists from the Zoological Society of London went to Speakers’ Corner in London’s Hyde Park with a mission to talk about the scientific issues the public care about.
These “soapbox scientists” either gave mini-lectures, or asked controversial and stimulating questions to try and attract passers-by.
There was a diverse range of subjects:
”Life on Mars from life on Earth”, ”Where do species come from anyway?” and ”Pheromones: Smells at the heart of life”;”Bees in crisis: Well known fact or widely held belief?”, ”Global warming and a cold winter”.
Members of the Zoological society kicked off the questioning with questions sent via Twitter and then the public joined in. Questions included “Is global warming real? If it is, what can we do about it?” “Will humans evolve?” and “Are polar bears becoming cannibals?”
The scientists also had questions for the public – “Why fight to preserve the British green belt, but not the foreign rainforests?”; “Is development worth the price of diversity?”
The event was funded by the Research Councils UK for a modest £6000 (70 000 SEK) and so perhaps may become a more popular method in these difficult times. And hopefully it is something that will happen more often.
Commenting after event, one of the speakers professor Stephan Harrison from Exeter University , said he had come round to the view that engaging with the public was not just an important thing to do, it is a scientist’s obligation.
And Alun Anderson from New Scientist added that this kind of one-on-one connection could be positively ”life-changing”.
// Esther Crooks
