doi:10.1038/embor.2010.41
Subject Categories:
Societal Issues & Politics | Science Policy & Funding
Of guerillas and cafés
Scientists are experimenting with new initiatives to talk to the people
Howard Wolinsky
Introduction
Last Halloween, a group of film lovers in London held an event in an abandoned car park and its adjacent buildings, all of which had been transformed into alien spacecraft. The group, Secret Cinema London, screened Alien and in keeping with the film's gory science fiction theme, a material scientist demonstrated the properties of ‘frozen smoke’—a low-density solid called aerogel in which the liquid components are replaced with gas—and a couple of biologists dissected animal hearts and livers near a ‘cabinet of curiosities’ containing jars of specimens.
The scientists were from Guerilla Science (London, UK; www.guerillascience.co.uk), an organization that promotes science at arts festivals. Guerilla Science is just one example of how scientists are exploring new ways to bring science to the public in a variety of venues, including events at cafés and festivals. Indeed, Guerilla Science shuns the more traditional science festivals and tries instead to attract people in unconventional, unexpected environments: typically at musical festivals that include the Secret Garden Festival and Latitude. At these events, the group stages talks, performances and interactive laboratories in canvas tents, with attendees sitting on sofas or bales of hay (Fig 1).
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