The UK Science Festivals Network serves to unite, celebrate and develop science festivals in the UK, building relationships with other sectors to drive attendance and innovation at science festivals.
Each year we collate evaluation data from our member festivals to produce a summary infographic highlighting engagement across the science festival sector. Please see below a summary of the network’s achievements in 2023.
You can access the PDF version here.
During our UK Science Festival Network Annual Conference on January 30, 2024 we had the pleasure of hosting Tracy Harwood and Marieke Navin’s event ‘Mastering the Art of AI’. The theme of the UKSFN Conference was ‘Science Festivals in 2050’ and the workshop focussed on innovation and cutting-edge trends in the science festival sector, discussing the roles of AI in future science festivals and evaluating emergent issues of its use.
In 30 years, AI’s role in science festivals could be transformative, not just in enhancing learning and experience but in fundamentally redefining the nature of public engagement with science. The boundary between participant and exhibit, learner and teacher, could blur, leading to a more integrated, immersive, and personalized approach to scientific education and exploration.
However, addressing the issues presented by AI involves a balanced approach, integrating technology with human-centric design, ethical considerations, and a commitment to continuous learning and adaptation.
Following the session, Tracy and Marieke produced a report on the topics discussed – read the full paper here.
At the 2024 UKSFN conference, we were very lucky to welcome Geraldine Cox and Steven Camden who took part in our opening and closing remarks respectively. Geraldine, artist in residence at Imperial College London, looked into the future to explore the Festival of 2050. Steven, a spoken-word poet and writer from the West Midlands, took inspiration from the day to compose a special poem for the day.
In 2050 festivals abound and explore many themes. I’m going to outline some of the features. But first I’d like to offer a note of perspective. For things have changed in recent decades. We used to think of Earth as a great planet, a boundless provider that supported an infinity of needs and desires. Now, we’ve learned to think of our home as a delicate and finely balanced spaceship and this has changed everything we do.
Back in the old days we powered everything by setting fires to some ancient remnants, black solids made from old trees and liquids that were once tiny sea creatures. The fires were everywhere but mostly hidden from view. The enormity of the burning amounted to over 600 Earth volcanos continuously exploding. Now, we’ve learned that the activities on a spaceship are best powered directly by the Sun, which sends us enormous light energy and drives the wind and rain; and the moon which animates the tides. Gaily painted wind turbines and sunlight capturing cells fill our lives and even the youngest children know the value of this celestial energy. At the festivals we usually have a section called celestial energy harvesting and we decorate wind and wave turbines and look at new designs and community schemes for harnessing sunlight.
Life on the spaceship is more cramped than it used to be. Some parts became too hot to live in because the pollution from the fires trapped the heat of the Sun. Other parts have been lost to flooding from melted ice. And for our health and happiness trees, plants, and animals are dedicated vast areas. To be content in our reduced space, we have learnt to be kind. All children learn what it is to be truly kind and there is justice and fairness everywhere. Before voting, people are asked to close their eyes and pretend that they do not know who they are. We are always looking for ways to create such rituals of kindness
and the festivals often explore these ideas in many ways from plays, poetry to discussions and design workshops.
At last, we’ve compiled a manual for Earth, and everyone must know at least the main stories: The water and carbon cycles for example, healthy soil structures, how plankton produce the oxygen we breath, and the vital work of insects. The essential principles are usually on display at festivals and updates to the manual are widely publicised. In this way we all have an understanding of the spaceship’s processes and how everything is interlinked. Other species often attend our festivals, and we spend time in dialogue with them from soil microorganisms to coral to whales.
The most complicated and powerful object on the spaceship is the human brain. In the 2020’s we thought vast knowledge and processing power to be the definition of intelligence and built computer systems called Artificial Intelligence. Then we realised we knew so little of the malleable fallible machine between our ears. The artificial systems are helpful for sure when we need to gather and explore large amounts of data, or decode the languages of other species, but now the focus is on the potential of the human imagination, its brilliance and empathy. Everyone is conscious of the unique potential of each mind, and we take care about what we put into our brains and how we operate them. We are the sculptors of our own brains, and Mind is always on the festival agenda.
You’ve probably sensed that a strong philosophical thread runs through events. Travelling through the eternity of space gives us perspective. We know how short the human life is and appreciate the precariousness of our existence. That nothing can be taken for granted. This has become an important topic and a developing artform to consider the arc of our own lives.
Living on a spaceship requires everyone’s talents, and this is one of the roles of the festivals, to give visitors the opportunity to experience and try many things, to discover and celebrate diverse talents and interests and to ensure they blossom. So, festivals are rich and dynamic inspirational events covering many themes, too numerous to mention in the 5 minutes I have. Though I will say that food is tremendously important, particularly since we stopped eating animals. Every festival offers the latest ideas for growing and preparing delicious fresh food. We’re keen to show that you don’t have to eat processed food if you live in space.
I’m happy to say that in 2050 festivals happen in every community on the spaceship. Everyone in the alphabet of life comes – artists, bakers, carers, doctors, engineers and earth watchers, florists, gardeners, homebuilders, imaginaries, joy experts, kite builders and kids, light catchers, musicians, neurologists, opticians, poets, quantity surveyors, robot builders, sun scientists, teachers, universe dynamicists, vets, welders and wind chasers, X-Ray analysts, yellow specialists, and zebra scientists. To name but a few! Often distant communities join by electronic links to see what we can learn from each other. Last year our friends in Morocco, who send us almost 20% of our energy generated from their Sun and wind, introduced us to their poetry and ran a course on desert life with painting and experiments.
At every festival we explore, celebrate, and nurture the magnificent beauty of spaceship earth and its diverse lifeforms. Please join us.
This year’s UKSFN conference took place at STEAMHouse in Birmingham on the 30th January. Over 60 people, both members and non-members of the network, joined in sessions across the day on topics including accessibility, AI, storytelling and the future of Festivals.
Conference rapporteur, Julie Ann Fooshee, summed up the day’s events in her closing statement. Here, she has re-produced a version of those comments.
On the morning of the 30th of January, 2024 we were tasked at the UK Science Festivals Network meeting with a big ask: what will festivals look like in the year 2050? This doesn’t come from just anywhere, the UK has a goal of net zero by 2050 and the UKSFN wants to know how science festivals can play a role in showing non-expert publics ways to reach this mark.
This call to action is not unlike the one made in the 1985 Bodmer Report which asked that scientists become better stewards of their work and that they share what they do with the public as a means to increase public trust in science. 2024 marks 39 years since that and we are still here, still working on just that. It may sound disheartening to think that we as festivals, communicators, engagers are four decades into this work and people still are wary of science, but what the UKSFN meeting has outlined is the rapid evolution of science in those four decades. The people we talk to in our festivals are grappling with both this fast-paced scientific advancement and the demands of their every-day lives and festivals provide a unique place for them to come to learn and find community.
Science festivals can be what is referred to as a third place. It’s somewhere that is neither work, nor home but the festival is more ephemeral in nature than your typical third place like a pub, café, or museum. Festival researcher Alessandro Falassi referred to them as a place that existed “time out of time” and as someone who researches festivals I think of this quote often.
As a society, we are running out of third places, which means that the festival has a critical future role. As a social hub, a cultural touchstone, they must serve within the community as not just a celebration of science but also a place that opens its doors for the community to come and find space and to be welcomed as they are. The strength of the future festival of 2025 all the way up to 2050 relies on decentralisation, and in building out strong partnerships with individuals, organisations, and stakeholders that share this vision of service to the community.
One of the quotes from the session on grass roots initiatives at the conference struck me: “when society is terrible, how can you accommodate around that?”
Festivals can’t wait for society to improve around them, they must be at the forefront of the change and moreover, as a social, cultural space, festivals have the opportunity to demonstrate best practice of the societal model. While there is bureaucracy in everything we do, festivals have a freedom of movement and of innovation that more brick-and-mortar organisations lack. Festivals have the ability to be nimble in their ideas and execution and to experiment with ideas and frameworks where other institutions may not be: let this be something that guides your practice when educating, communicating and collaborating with other outside entities and community organisations. Your festival has the means to bring their ecstatic and often times unrestrained visions to life.
There are so many places where people feel excluded, unwanted and that they aren’t “meant” to be there. Emily Dawson’s work in museums is as true now as it was when she published it and its applicable to festivals the same way it is to museums. However, through co-creative processes, festivals have the opportunity to expand beyond those boundaries, festivals can be and should be for everyone.
Unfortunately this is a deliberate process. Gone are the days of throwing community programming at the wall like pasta to see if it sticks and hoping that people attend. In 2024 we are dealing with a public that feels increasingly disenfranchised, has undergone a mass-disabling event, and that chooses daily between food and heating their home. To serve this public it’s about creating a place that they can escape to but that also meets their needs through conscious programming choices.
In that way perhaps it’s not so unfortunate at all. We are all working together, as a community to meet our needs, to meet others’ needs. I don’t think there’s anything more community driven, socially relevant, or culturally beautiful than that. So I leave you today with a question: what does your event do to address and honour the present? Otherwise you won’t get buy-in or pride of place; and second: what does your event do to supply people with opportunities for change?
2050 looks brighter every day, but start with tomorrow, start with next year. We can do it together.
Bodmer Report 1985: https://royalsociety.org/~/media/royal_society_content/policy/publications/1985/10700.pdf
Emily Dawson’s work: https://equityandeverydayscience.wordpress.com
Alessandro Falassi (this one you have to either have the physical book or get it from an academic library which is a bummer! But here is a citation for anyone looking): Falassi Alessandro. Time Out of Time : Essays on the Festival. 1st ed 1st ed. University of New Mexico Press 1987. 15 Feb. 2024.
The UK Science Festivals Network (UKSFN) kicked off 2022 with our fifth annual conference!
Over 100 science festival organisers from across the UK (and beyond) convened online to share ideas, explore opportunities for the future, and get inspired. We bring you the highlights.
In the past year, the science festival sector has continued to face an unpredictable COVID-19 landscape. With a growing focus on conversations around climate, and evolving ways of engaging audiences, it felt important for UKSFN22 to take stock, celebrate some of the sector’s remarkable achievements, and look to the road ahead.
Attendees also tackled the subject of digital engagement, gained practical insights into co-production and learnt about new approaches to working closer with communities.
The day was filled with uplifting discussions, opportunities to connect with colleagues, and chances to relax and unwind through drawing, yoga and an assistance dog puppy cam!
You can also search the #UKSFN22 hashtag over on Twitter to follow what attendees had to say throughout the day.
Maggie Aderin-Pocock kicked off the day by celebrating the resiliency and innovation demonstrated across the sector in recent months.
Using data collected from festivals across the UK, Maggie, Amanda, Heather and Antonio reflected on patterns in the festival landscape since the onset of the pandemic. Audience sizes, as well as the numbers of events, volunteers, and researchers involved in events have all been significantly impacted – but the data points to a recovering sector.
Touching on personal experience and research findings, the panel raised some important considerations for organisers to bear in mind as we step into 2022. For instance, the inclusion of those that have limited access to internet, and continuing to listen to and to work more closely with our audiences.
The panel provided an in-depth discussion on the return to in-person events while continuing to tap into the new opportunities presented by digital engagement.
This session tackled the question on all of our minds: how has the pandemic influenced the way audiences think and act?
Adam Koszary explored this using two years’ worth of data on the public’s physical, digital and participatory engagement with culture, collected as part of The Audience Agency’s COVID Cultural Participation Monitor and Indigo Act Two Survey. Findings revealed a significant rally in overall (in-person and digital) engagement in 2021, though online cultural engagement declined throughout the pandemic.
Despite this, new audiences have become engaged with digital content since 2020 and demonstrate an appetite for continued engagement. This does hinge, however, on online offerings providing both quality content and a unique selling point!
Adam concluded that it’s vital to ensure digital content is accessible (e.g. through captioning and audio description) and can be used to bring a unique and complementary element to in-person engagement.
The Art-AI Festival aims to engage people with the roles and potentials of artificial intelligence (AI) through an art festival that takes place entirely in the public realm. This has taken shape as a ten-month, international programme of striking art installations, alongside an online programme of talks from leading artists – generating hundreds of thousands of engagements per month.
In this session Festival Director, Tracy Harwood, delved into the world of emerging technologies within ‘smart cities’ She explored how this creates novel opportunities within creative practice to place artists at the forefront of innovations. As technologies continue to evolve rapidly, Tracy emphasised the importance of keeping people and places in the loop, so that we are empowering the audiences we seek to engage.
Many organisers of science events are keenly aware of keenly aware of the importance of sustainable practices in response to the climate crisis, especially following on from COP26 at the end of last year. We knew it was important to include a session in the programme tailored to those looking to make sustainability an integral part of their operations.
Drawing on her experience as director of a non-profit dedicated to reducing the environmental impact of festivals and events, Teresa Moore’s short guide to greener events provided an abundance of practical tools and insights for attendees.
Careful planning ties into everything. From venue selection to procurement, and food waste to methods of promoting events – all of which tie into an event’s environmental impact. Teresa highlighted the importance of policy in ensuring sustainability being embedded into the heart of our work.
We often assume that digital events have a lower environmental impact than in person. Teresa brought this session to a close by considering whether or not this is actually the case…
These sessions acted as practical workshops exploring the fundamental principles of co-production. Attendees came ready to challenge assumptions about existing ways of working, exploring the what, why and how of truly including users in our festivals and events.
Bonnie and Lucía explored ideas for working collaboratively on a level playing field to make decisions that included everyone. It was fantastic to see participants reflecting on key barriers to co-production, including physical, attitudinal and communicational. There was a focus on how these obstacles can be overcome through utilising available technology, considering access needs, relying on participatory research methods and increasing our own self-awareness as organisers of festivals and events.
Co-production 101 provided a valuable, practical framework for organisers looking to shift the power from themselves to their project and event participants.
Whilst the COVID-19 pandemic has created much uncertainty for organisers of in-person events across the sector, Greenwich & Docklands International Festival (GDIF) made bold strides as one of the first festivals to pioneer an in-person event after the start of the pandemic.
Ellie Harris shared learnings from planning to delivering, all whilst in the midst of fluctuating COVID-19 restrictions, including:
Echoing the sentiments expressed by other speakers such as Adam Koszary, Ellie reflected on the use of digital tools to enhance live events and promote accessibility.
She used the example of GDIF’s Lullaby, a poignant and moving British Sign Language Film produced to accompany a participatory piece of artwork. The artwork celebrated ‘bedtime’ through an illuminated, surround sound night-time bike ride. Producing the complementary digital offering enabled deaf and hard-of-hearing communities to explore these themes.
This fascinating case study showcased an exciting project within FUTURES: European Researchers’ Night, a festival of discovery that equips researchers with public engagement skills while bringing them into spaces where the public are.
Dean shared how the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the FUTURES Team to massively rethink their formats in 2020-2021. They made a conscious decision to combat digital exclusion while continuing to connect researches and communities in meaningful and relevant ways. The solution: community radio!
Working with a number of community radio stations, FUTURES on Air worked closely with users to identify their priorities and interests in relation to research. By matching these groups with appropriate researchers and working with trusted intermediaries including producers and community radio practitioners, the team enabled the cocreation of radio shows that were important to them.
CHECK OUT SOME AUDIO CLIPS FROM THE SHOW.
In this session, Emma Slater shared a compelling case study from her experience of growing and developing a meaningful partnership with the North Paddington Youth Club over a period of several years.
Emma reflected on the importance of making yourself available, prioritising flexibility and most importantly – listening and responding to the community group. Over the last two years, this collaboration has empowered young people to co-develop numerous projects, designing and developing projects from trainers to e-scooters, alongside artists, engineers and researchers.
The significant impact of these projects on participants’ perspectives of science and researchers showcased the vital importance of relationship building when working with communities. It may not always be without it’s challenges but, as Emma so rightly put it, “the relationship is the project”.
To find out more about how Emma and the team from Imperial and the Great Exhibition Road Festival have worked with NPYC, check out this blog post she wrote reflecting on her 2020 UKSFN-funded making connections project.
Before it was time to click “leave meeting”, Eduardo and Steve shared their experiences of curating science exhibitions and bringing together science with communities in the final UKSFN22 session of the day.
In this discussion, chaired by Katherine Mathieson, the panel accepted that COVID-19, the climate crisis and advancements in the technological and digital spaces are likely to continue to be key themes, and significantly impact the world of science engagement. Steve reflected on the value of cocreation and role that engaging underrepresented communities with science has in bringing people together and paving the way for scientific legacies – which is crucial in challenging times!
This session highlighted the importance of optimism as we move forward with our own festivals, events and projects. Despite the challenges of recent months, innovations in the ways we engage audiences are opening new avenues to reach new audiences, and champion inclusivity.
The conference concluded with a strong sentiment of excitement to be an integral part of these upcoming developments, paving the way for the future of the science engagement sector.
The wealth of insight and experience from across the science engagement sector is staggering.
It’s incredible to be able to connect, and reflect on the topics that are currently front of mind for many of us.
Until next year, here’s to continuing to learn from current global challenges, perfecting the balancing act of digital and in-person events and developing accessible and inclusive content to radically shift the power to our audiences.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE UK SCIENCE FESTIVAL NETWORK HERE.
Related blogs:
Since 2017, the UK Science Festivals Network (UKSFN), with funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), has supported science festival practitioners to bring underserved audiences and researchers together.
To aid reflection amongst UKSFN members and the wider engagement sector, over the past two years, we have shared learnings from these projects in a series of blogs.
The sixth blog in our ‘UKSFN learning curves’ series is written by Irina Jarrett-Thorpe, director at Engineering Minds.
At Engineering Minds, we aim to help young people become the next generation of scientists and engineers by harnessing their knowledge and creativity – and have lots of Eureka moments along the way!
With support from UKRI and UKSFN, we were able to take our work in an entirely new direction by working with young people of secondary school age, and also developing new partnerships by engaging with external engineers and researchers.
This pilot project ‘Girls’ Impact on Engineering’ aimed to inspire interest in a career in engineering for 15 girls aged between 11-14 from underrepresented groups in Greenwich, London.
Being a new direction of work for us, naturally, we were all nervous at the start but by the end of it, there was an overwhelming enthusiasm across the board to run similar projects in the future. Let’s start from the beginning…
Girls’ Impact on Engineering ran from July to November 2021, with the first three months being allocated to planning sessions that would be delivered from October – November.
We started by partnering with local community groups that work with families from an ethnic minority background – Afyah organisation, The Greenwich Somali Community, and The Greenwich Turkish Community. Engaging with young people through these partnerships was one of the project’s strengths and key success factors, as it allowed us to better understand their needs, and supported them to trust our project.
We also engaged with two researchers and six engineers who volunteered from the very beginning of the project, taking part in preparatory meetings to explore the most suitable ways to engage with the young people.
The topics for each session chosen to reflect local engineering projects that the girls could relate to, as many didn’t feel that engineering impacted their lives directly. We based the sessions on delving into some of the challenges local communities in Greenwich are affected by and explored why gender balanced teams of engineers could be more effective in tackling them through more creative approaches. An important learned lesson was to help the girls explore topics that directly reflect their lives, engineering projects that they could directly relate to. Once the girls understood the impact of civil engineering projects on their own communities, they could relate to topics that directly affected their lives and their immediate environment. And so, we could see a significant increase in their interest in engineering and how it truly makes a difference to people’s lives.
The first session ran in October, which aimed to introduce engineering and the role played by research in engineering.
One of the challenges we faced was bringing the context of engineering and research to girls who had no previous knowledge or experience of engineering, It became clear that we needed to avoid all technical jargon and stick to bitesize presentations of no more than 5 minutes.
We discussed topics from a local perspective and used numerous hands-on and interactive activities.
The next sessions covered what it’s like working as a fire engineer. The girls were shown a fire simulation in Blackwall Tunnel, one of the busiest tunnels in South-East London, and reflected on how fire risks could be minimised in tunnels and public buildings. The girls also conducted afire risk assessment for the community building we were identifying possible hazards and coming up with solutions for keeping everyone safe. The group then put what they learnt to the test with a hands on activity dedicated to building a LEGO tunnel that would comply with all the fire safety requirements. The girls embraced this challenge with enthusiasm and built tunnels that had escape routes, fans to dissipate the smoke, alarms systems, adequate lighting and clear signing.
Other sessions included exploring the advantages and disadvantages of car-free areas and how electric cars work, how to create a High-Speed Rail from Greenwich, alongside the different routes into engineering and the opportunities in international engineering careers.
It was truly fascinating to see how seriously the girls took each challenge and how much thought and consideration they gave to each step of every project.
The final evaluation of the project showed that out of 15 participants, 10 said they found the project very interesting and feel more connected with engineering and science. The enthusiasm and energy displayed by the girls showed us that they were really inspired by these eight sessions and we hope some of them will consider a career in engineering or research.
Following the success of this pilot project, Engineering Minds will aim to extend this model and engage with a few secondary schools from Greenwich, including Eltham Hill Secondary School for Girls, who has expressed a strong interest for bringing engineering opportunities to their students.
One of the challenges we expect to face is finding enthusiastic engineers and researchers who would have the time to visit the schools, work directly with the girls and come up with ideas for hands-on engineering activities that could become local projects.
The new curriculum “Girls’ Impact on Engineering” will continue to be used and improved to encourage teenage girls to explore a career in engineering and research.
Inspiring girls who might have never contemplated becoming engineers is not an easy task, but without any doubt is one of the most rewarding projects that our organisation has run so far.
If you are interested in science festivals, events or activities, join us for our upcoming UK Science Festivals Network Conference on 25 January 2022. This will be a great chance to meet others from the sector, such as some of the authors from the ‘UKSFN learning curves’ blog series, and delve into inspiring sessions tackling sustainability, coproduction, the rise of digital engagement, and more.
More in the ‘UKSFN learning curves’ series’:
We are excited to announce that tickets are now available for #UKSFN22, where we will we convene online to discuss all things science festivals and events. Join us online for the fifth UK Science Festivals Network conference on 25 January 2022 from 8.55 to 16.45.
Click here for tickets and to view the programme
Join us for a day packed full of fantastic content with speakers from across and beyond the science engagement sector, where we will be discussing:
* How festivals and others from the science engagement community have been learning and responding to the ever-changing UK landscape, and what this means for the road ahead.
* Practical advice for placing co-production and sustainability at the heart of events and projects
* Challenging insights into audience behaviours and the future of digital and hybrid engagement.
* Plenty of other topics…there’s something for everyone!
We will hear thought-provoking discussions, have opportunities to network with colleagues and leave feeling equipped and inspired to take the next step in our science festival and event journeys.
We’re Hopin you’ll join us in January! And, if you’re tweeting, don’t forget to use #UKSFN22.
Do contact info@sciencefestivals.uk if you have any questions
Since 2017, the UK Science Festivals Network (UKSFN), with funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), has supported science festival practitioners to bring underserved audiences and researchers together.
To aid reflection amongst UKSFN members and the wider engagement sector, over the past two years, we have shared learnings from these projects in a series of blogs.
The fifth blog in our ‘UKSFN learning curves’ series is written by Ellie Turner-Wallace, Programmes Officer at The Natural History Consortium/Festival of Nature.
The Making Connections project has brought together local community groups and researchers to share their environmental expertise and personal stories of connecting with nature.
As the Making Connections Photography Exhibition opens in venues across Bristol, our team at the Natural History Consortium has been reflecting on our Making Connections Project in collaboration with the Black Seeds Network.
Over a series of workshops, designed to spark creative collaboration and challenging conversations, ten different voices came together to explore their various paths to working with nature – either in their professional, volunteering, or academic lives.
Half of the group were working in academic research, ranging in topics from bioengineering to waste management and photosynthesis to physiotherapy. The other half were community leaders involved in social projects built around connecting communities.
Inspired and informed by these discussions, the group shared their stories through photography as a visual medium, creating a photo exhibition that is now being showcased across the city, from local community centres to city centre museums.
One of the strengths of the project has been the close partnership and collaboration with the Black Seeds Network, from writing the original bid through to the evaluation process. The Network provides a platform for environmentalists of colour to socialise, gain support, seek opportunities, innovate and develop knowledge and expertise on environmental issues.
The partnership has been invaluable. It has enabled the project to work with community leaders through a trusted partner, and broker important conversations about inequality and exclusion.
One of the key discussions early on in the planning process asked how we could ensure that the community partners and researchers were entering the project on an equal footing, as experts in their respective fields.
Careful consideration was given to mitigate any perceived power imbalance during the workshops, supporting researchers to step out of their usual environment and appreciate the trust offered by communities welcoming them into their space.
The decision was made to hold the workshops in-person, in a space familiar to the community leaders. As a result, we were lucky enough to be invited into the spectacular home of the Bristol Rainforest at St Philips Nursery School. After much discussion, we were able to craft an invitation to researchers that attracted those with a keen interest in both learning from others and social justice. We found that this created a positive social dynamic within the group that allowed space for some difficult but important discussions.
It has been such a joy delivering in-person workshops, especially in the inspiring, relaxing setting of an indoor rainforest! Physically coming together enabled community leaders and researchers to get the opportunity to share their stories and expertise, learn together, and get to know one another.
However, holding the workshops in person has not been without its challenges! Fixing suitable dates for busy community leaders and researchers was difficult at times, and led to a workshop being postponed. To enable involvement in the project, particularly for those who were ill or isolating, we created opportunities for participants to join remotely and add their photographs into the final photography exhibition.
The primary output of the project was a Making Connections photography exhibition. Participants were encouraged to share their stories and experiences with a wider audience through photography. We have been astounded by the quality of the photographs!
We’ve been delighted by the response from organisations expressing an interest in hosting the exhibition. Our two-week planned tour has evolved into a month-long exhibition showcased by three partner organisations across multiple venues. By offering a digital version, we have been able to show the exhibition in even more venues across the city (without spending the entire project budget on printing costs!).
You can see some of the photography featured in the exhibition below:
Credit: Amrish Pandya |
Credit: Hilary McCarthy |
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Credit: Huan Doan |
Credit: Judit Davies |
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Credit: Gulid Mohamed |
Credit: Olivia Reddy |
To find out more about the Making Connections Exhibition and the organisations involved, visit: https://www.bnhc.org.uk/making-connections-photography-exhibition/
More in the ‘UKSFN learning curves’ series’:
Since 2017, the UK Science Festivals Network (UKSFN), with funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has supported science festival practitioners to bring underserved audiences together with researchers.
Last year, the COVID-19 pandemic meant science festival organisers had to completely re-think their approaches. This resulted in a diverse mix of projects from digital game development to virtual dance workshops and other (government-guideline friendly) activities. To aid reflection amongst UKSFN members and the wider engagement sector, we shared the learnings from these projects in a series of blogs:
With lockdown restrictions lifted and a transition to a new ‘normal’ underway, for this year’s round of UKRI funding we aim to our support UKSFN members to focus on making connections; bringing underserved audiences together with researchers through community partnerships – with a mixture of digital, hybrid and in-person projects.
The fourth blog in our ‘UKSFN learning curves’ series is written by Lucy Cheesman, Project Manager at AlgoMech Festival.
In 2019, the AlgoMech Festival received funding from UKSFN to deliver drop-in live-coding music and visuals workshops as part of the Rotherham Show Diversity Festival.
This year, we are working with Roma community groups in Sheffield to deliver a series of workshops for young people, exploring algorithmic patterns through flamenco dancing, weaving and live-coded music.
We want the young people participating to influence the structure of the workshops and take the techniques in their own direction. To achieve this, I’ve collaborated with two researchers, Alex McLean and Rosemary Cisneros, to come up with new ways of working together to support the development of flexible, yet engaging and coherent workshops.
The difficulty in maintaining a fluid approach is balancing that flexibility with coherency across our disciplines, so we don’t end up working on flamenco dance, weaving and live-coded music in isolation!
Alex, Rosa and I got together in person for the time ever last week to think through our approach. For all of us, there was a little awkwardness determining comfort levels working in the same space. It’s been such a long time since collaborating in real-life space – it took a bit of getting used to. Having said that, it was fantastic to feel that energy, and I’m so excited to be working with Rosa and Alex on this project.
We met in a large and beautiful meeting space attached to Alex’s lab at Abbeydale Picture House in Sheffield. Our aim for the session was to bring together our three disciplines and find a way to share ideas about rhythms and patterns that are common across the three art forms. We wanted everything to make sense to the young people, while avoiding being too prescriptive with how we structure the workshop. It’s important to all of us to respect the agency and intentions of the young people we work with, and allow them to guide and shape the work we do.
We spent our time looking at areas of commonality, focusing on tempo, rhythm, sound and pattern. We decided to use a common tempo to create cohesion between our activities. We are aiming to keep the overall sound of the workshop very simple -the sounds of clapping, movement of the body, and the sounds of the loom. All of which will be re-sampled and used as part of the music workshops. And of course, there will be the sounds of our voices in the space. We expect there will be a lot of energy in the room and things will get noisy, so we’re trying to think of ways to incorporate that into our workshop design… however, it’s impossible to predict how that feels until we’re in the room on the day!
We also wanted to come up with some activities for people who might feel intimidated or overwhelmed – setting up a corner with videos, worksheets and artefacts to explore in peace or with headphones on for those who need a bit of time out.
For a final addition to the plan, we’re hoping our partners at Greentop Circus will be able to incorporate juggling patterns into the workshop using the same notation system and structure, touching on skills already familiar to the participants.
In all, it feels really exciting to be making progress on such a varied project, working in new ways and really thinking through how best to engage the young people in what we’re doing. I’m really looking forward to seeing what direction the participants take the skills in and what we can learn from them in return.
Read the next blog in the ‘UKSFN learning curves’ series:
UKSFN Learning curves #5: Exploring nature on a level playing field
On 19 January, organisers of science festivals and science events convened on Hopin, an online events platform, for the fourth UK Science Festivals Network conference.
Following a chaotic year, in which COVID-19 brought the sector face-to-face with extraordinary challenges, it’s never felt more important to get together (albeit virtually) to share experiences and spark inspiration in one another.
While we missed being able to gather in person, our first endeavour into the world of online conferencing provided the opportunity to welcome more people than ever before – from 11 different countries around the world! Being mindful of “Zoom fatigue”, we were determined to carve out opportunities for attendees to continue the conversation with speakers and other attendees informally, as well as engaging in a few fun and light-hearted activities. We hosted desk-based yoga sessions and even a virtual petting zoo with some very cute goats.
It also enabled attendees to easily engage with as much of the content as suited their needs, building their conference experience around caring responsibilities and the inevitable Wi-Fi glitches!
In terms of content, the effects of a global pandemic on festivals were (unsurprisingly) high on the agenda – particularly with the rise of remote culture and combatting misinformation. Conversations also considered
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) journeys and listening to communities.
Here are some reflections and take-home messages from each session. You can also check out #UKSFN21 to see what attendees were saying on Twitter throughout the day!
Panel: Laura Melissa Williams (Designer), Kathrine Bancroft (UK Research and Innovation) and Farrah Nazir (Wellcome Trust) Chair: Ivvet Abdullah-Modinou (UK Science Festivals Network/British Science Association)
It felt important to kick off the day on an optimistic and hopeful note, by celebrating what festivals across the Network have achieved throughout 2020, despite so much uncertainty, as shown in the infographic below.
The panellists considered where we, as science festivals, find ourselves at the beginning of a new year and how organisers of such events can move forward.
Debbie McNeill (Glasgow Science Festival) and Maddie Smart (ArtReach) Chair: Julie Fooshee (University of Edinburgh)
Julie kicked off this session by asking “So, what happened!? to festival organisers at the forefront of rolling out large-scale events during the pandemic.
Debbie took us on Glasgow Science Festival’s journey of transforming their initial programme into an exciting digital offering (in only seven weeks!). ‘Science on the Sofa’ comprised 650 activities including live-streamed events, as well as self-directed content for audiences to experience at their leisure. Similarly, Maddie Smart explained how arts festival Journeys Festival International went ahead as a 21-day-long online extravaganza, working with 60 artists to showcase performances and artworks.
Both considered the challenges of having to digitally rethink ways of working in community spaces and facilitating safe, yet sometimes polarising, conversations. Another recurring theme was the heart-warming, overwhelmingly positive response from partners when re-invited to take part in a totally different programme, despite grappling with their own pandemic woes!
Looking ahead to the coming months, an interesting challenge for large-scale events will be how to make the return to live events, whilst making the most of the digital upskilling and learnings from 2020.
Speakers: Arun Bector (BME Housing Consortium) and Marsha Fisher (Sutton African and Caribbean Cultural Organisation) Chair: Anna Woolman (British Science Association)
Throughout the pandemic, grassroots organisations have played a vital and resourceful role in responding to the immediate needs of their users. In 2020, the BSA partnered with UKRI to enable community groups to run projects in the latter half of the year, trialling new approaches to engage their audiences with science.
Both Marsha and Arun reflected on novel opportunities to increase the reach of their projects through creative methods of remote engagement, The established trust that both groups held within these communities afforded them an open dialogue with users when discussing sensitive issues such as COVID-19.
Many of the points raised in this session focus on the importance of building relationships with communities, further explored in the later session ‘What should we be talking about today?’
Speakers: Katherine Mathieson (British Science Association) and Tinu Cornish (SEA-Change Consultancy)
The BSA has undertaken an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) journey over the last few years, with support from SEA-Change Consultancy.
The road to becoming an organisation that listens to diverse voices both internally and externally has come with varied successes and challenges. Tinu and Katherine’s reflections from this process include:
Speaker: Matt Locke (Storythings)
COVID-19 has had a huge impact on the way we consume content, prompting a shift towards rich, immersive video experiences that can be consumed from our living rooms (Tiger King, anyone?). Many organisations have been quick to develop digital content over the last year with varying degrees of success, but has this approach really been the best way forward?
Matt Locke delved into the rise of remote culture, which stretches far beyond the digital world even though it doesn’t always seem that way. Matt rightly explained that replicating a physical experience online shouldn’t necessarily be the goal – we should instead begin designing formats by considering where our audiences are, how they consume content and what they are doing with their time. It’s about getting creative within the constraints!
Speaker: Penny Fidler (Association of Science and Discovery Centres) and Emma Woodham (Glasgow Science Centre)
This session invited attendees to share their own organisation’s ideas and plans for COP26. A range of exciting plans are already in motion across the science engagement sector!
If you didn’t attend this session but are keen to get involved, find out more here or get in touch with COP26info@cabinetoffice.gov.uk for more information.
Speaker: Lenna Cumberbatch (Diversity and Inclusion Strategist)
With a strong practical focus, this session provided a space for attendees to explore questions about their own approaches to EDI, drawing on Lenna’s expertise.
A key theme was that communication is critical throughout our journeys. From open discussions with relevant stakeholders from the outset, alongside bring the right people into the room, it becomes possible to set realistic goals and identify missteps quickly. We need to be conscious of power dynamics, setting clear boundaries around communicating respectfully when involving others in conversations. To learn and move forward, we shouldn’t hesitate to acknowledge our mistakes and apologise, whilst also being quick to forgive.
Lenna reinforced that seeing a change requires goal setting and a commitment to the legwork. Change should be driven by data to understand where the gaps are in existing strategies.
Remember that there are major differences between positive discrimination (illegal) and positive action (legal), which can be a valuable tool on your journey.
Speakers: Savita Willmott (Bristol Natural History Consortium), Elisa Valarani (Design Council)
In 2020, Bristol Festival of Nature’s undertook a project to build design thinking onto their practice as part of a partnership between the UKSFN and the Design council.
Some of their biggest takeaways from this process included:
Some tools and techniques that were particularly valuable throughout the process included Padlet and Rose, thorn, bud. (We would also recommend Miro!)
Speaker: Chris Manion (British Science Association)
Attendees at this session had a sneak preview into The Ideas Fund, a novel, Wellcome-funded grants programme that will provide funding and, crucially, support to communities to explore ideas around mental wellbeing by working with researchers.
Chris took us through this exciting new programme, from its inception through a rigorous co-design progress, all the way to the launch. This opportunity is currently open to groups operating within communities in Hull, Oldham, North West Northern Ireland and the Highlands & Islands of Scotland. To find out if you’re eligible or for more information about this innovative new programme, check out The Ideas Fund website.
Speakers: Daniel Aguirre (Science Festival Accelerator), Ben Wiehe (US Science Festival Alliance)
When was the last time you attended a meeting that started with this genuine invitation? To be fully authentic, totally present and listen sincerely as we practice community engagement, we must be prepared to put our agendas to one side.
Ben and Daniel openly and frankly shared their reflections from the Science Festival Alliance’s Community Listening project. This initiative set out to amplify community voices, creating a brave and safe space to understand their on-the-ground realities and priorities. This challenging session drove home the huge importance of meeting communities where they are, and building trust so that science event organisers can be invited into community spaces, rather than expecting communities to engage first.
There were so many profound and insightful take-home messages from this session. Many reflections from attendees can be seen on Twitter using #UKSFN21 (a few are copied here). We encourage you to find out more about this project by listening to the project recordings, which can be found in the previous link.
Speaker: Froi Legaspi (CitizensUK)
This session provided a brilliant introduction to this powerful tool for community organising. By demoing a one-on-one meeting with the BSA’s own Anna Woolman, attendees gained solid, practical guidance on building a public relationship based on mutual interests.
These meetings are designed to be intentional, focussed on interests, a two-way conversation (not a therapy session!) and last about as long as it takes a cup of tea to get cold. As Froi brilliantly summarised, the only rule is to be curious about the person in front of you and ask open questions!
Speaker: Joe Pierre (University of California, Los Angeles)
This session challenged science festival and event organisers to consider our roles and responsibilities towards tackling the COVID-19 ‘infodemic’. ‘Fake news’ surrounding the pandemic can seem overwhelming at times, but Joe Pierre’s research focusses on why these theories are so incredibly prevalent, and how the divide between science and conspiracy theories can be bridged.
When toxic divisiveness is endemic in society, Joe reflects that a considerate, nuanced approach to engagement is crucial as we advocate for trust in scientific knowledge going forward.
Check out Joe’s blog for a deep dive into these and other questions.
Speakers: Yara El-Sherbini and Davina Drummond (YARA + DAVINA)
Wrapping up the conference on a positive and thought-provoking note, artistic duo YARA + DAVINA discussed learnings from their interactive artwork, Arrivals + Departures, and how they responded to COVID-19 as creative problem solvers.
The installation, based on the familiar imagery of travel departure and arrival boards, was intended to provide a site to acknowledge meaningful moments and significant people. The artwork has been proven to be adaptable, not just to changing government guidance and regulations, but also to the needs of the public. It also facilitated an outlet for grief as people weren’t as able to mourn death in typical ways.
YARA + DAVINA’s work also touches on politics and the Black Lives Matter movement. In 2020 the public started to consciously name the unnamed, such as George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, whilst also deciding to end the historic memorialisation of some controversial figures by toppling statues. Arrivals + Departures gives everyone the power to decide who gets commemorated.
YARA + DAVINA concluded that art provides a vital function to help people deal with lockdowns and the aftermath of a global pandemic, as well as highlighting longstanding questions around social and climate justice. There is a significant need for art to act as a catalyst for these conversations that are equally relevant to anyone who works to engage the public with science.
There was so much inspiration to be gained from #UKSFN21, arguably, the biggest take away for many was the sense of pride in being a part of a community that has continued to listen to and innovate for our audiences, during the most challenging of times.
A huge thanks from the UKSFN team and to everyone who joined us on the day, both speakers and delegates. We can’t wait to come back together next year, whether online or face-to-face, to once again celebrate a sector that is going from strength to strength and shows no signs of stopping.