Cell EXPLORERS present at Sci:Com 2023
Last week Sarah-Beth Bradley (CE research assistant) and Katie McHugh (volunteer coordinator) attended Sci:Com in the Aviva stadium in Dublin. Sci:Com is the Irish science communication conference and this year's theme was Reality. Topics ranged from AI to biodiversity with some really interesting talks and panels as well as a short play!
Sarah-Beth presented a poster on our Fantastic DNA in a Box sessions and their impact on participants in 2022. We found that doing the hands-on experiment and meeting a CE scientist had a positive effect on science attitudes and aspirations. Relating to the theme of reality, meeting a scientist addressed some misconceptions that some pupils had before meeting the scientists.
Katie presented a poster on Shannon Stubbs' research on "Implementing the Science Capital Teaching Approach in a scientist-facilitated intervention". This research has found that children who participated in the intervention perceived the scientists they met as “normal”, “interesting” and “pretty similar to us” after chatting with them about their hobbies and daily lives.
This was the first time either Sarah-Beth or Katie had attended a conference! This is how they felt about the experience:
I felt mostly excited but a little bit nervous as well! I love meeting new people and making connections, and it was a great opportunity to meet other people in the science communication community!
- Sarah-Beth
"It was really lovely to get to speak to so many people who work in science communication. Several people visited the poster with interest in the research for various reasons, one of whom spoke to prospective teachers about the importance of science at a primary school level. It was a very interesting conference with many very enjoyable speakers, it was also great to meet so many different people within the field."
-Katie
Thanks to the organisers of Sci:Com for a fantastic day!
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A note about the funders:
Cell EXPLORERS are supported by Science Foundation Ireland and the US Medtronic Foundation. The operation of the National Network, development and dissemination of Fantastic DNA and Little Cells, and the development of the CE Escape Room and Science Club are supported by Science Foundation Ireland. The dissemination of the CE Escape Room and Science Club are supported by the Medtronic Foundation, under the Giving Real Opportunities to Widen participation in STEM (GROWS) project.
About Medtronic Foundation:
The Medtronic Foundation partners to improve lives for underserved and underrepresented populations worldwide, and support communities where Medtronic employees live and give. For more information, please visit medtronicfoundation.org.
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