Duran M – PCST Network

Author: Miquel Duran – University of Girona, Spain

Co-authors:

Fernando Blasco – Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain
Silvia Simon – University of Girona, Spain

Our group has been working for a few year in innovative ways to communicate science concepts in all STEM fields using magic as a useful, enticing tool. Moreover, discoveries of our own research groups are being communicated too, partially, with the help of Magic (and its mysteries), using cards, props, science curiosities, awesome experiments or mathematical games.

This communication will address our experience on explaining science concepts involving time to a general audience, according to its definition as a dimension in which events can be ordered from the past through the present into the future, and also the measure of durations of events and the intervals between them. Thus, chemical kinetics (as rate of change with respect to time), catalysis (acceleration), entropy (as equivalent to the arrow of time), and the Solar System, Moon phases and Easter Sunday (as periodic systems) will be analyzed and assessed. Furthermore, we will tackle calendar-related games and tricks, like determining the weekday corresponding to a given date, or relating weekday names to heavenly bodies. Finally, we will provide new ideas on calendar-related games which arose from creating our weekly “52 Games with the Periodic Table” 2019 website.

Audiences have found such games and activities fun, entertaining, and informative. Calendar-related activities attract curiosity by all kinds of participants, no only from those who are especially science oriented. Time involves history, and allows to try to predict the future – actually this is the subject of quite a lot of magic performances.

Of course such practices may be applied not only to public communication of science, but also to science education, However, there are meaningful differences that should be explained elsewhere. We will concentrate on public communication to a general audience. In any case, time is used here too as a blender of different scientific fields.

The author has not yet submitted a copy of the full paper.

Presentation type: Insight talk
Theme: Time

Author: Miquel Duran – University of Girona, Spain

Co-authors:

Fernando Blasco – Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain
Silvia Simon – University of Girona, Spain

Public communication of Science is usually achieved within science-related events like Science Fairs, Festivals, Lectures, etc. However, there are other events not specifically science-oriented that may be used to reach a larger population. Our team has been involved in three such cases (connecting Science with Magic): participation in a Costa Brava Magic Fair (communicating science to families), guiding City visits (communicating Science on the spot in Girona, Barcelona, and others), and building Flower exhibits (Rubik’s Cube, Periodic Table of the Elements).

All three cases have provided the opportunity to talk about science and techology advances and their social implications, because all three cases connect a large audience (social gathering) for a given amount of time (shorter in the case of a Flower Festival). Moreover, all three provide an urban context that allow to pinpoint history clues, keys to the future of communities, and transformation opportunities, while allowing discussion with the public.

Different fields of Science may be connected in this kind of nonscience events: actually, it is simpler than in Science-related events. This presentation will focus on urban magic&science walks: in a recent Barcelona Walk (Parc de la Ciutadella), we linked mathematics, biology, chemistry, geology and physics. In various Girona Old Town Walks on Magic and Science we led in the last four years, we addressed heritage, mathematics, physics, and chemistry using enticing magic tricks and curious experiments. Participants usually love that approach to local-based Science.

We think that science communication in general, nonscience events provides great opportunity to reach a much wider audience. Our experience from qualitative, impromptu post-event evaluation suggests that participants in science-related events reinforce their beliefs and satisfy their expectations. On the contrary, in general events like City Walks, surprise brings about curiosity for science to individuals and groups that might not consider science interesting enough.

The author has not yet submitted a copy of the full paper.

Presentation type: Visual presentation
Theme: Transformation

Science, Magic, and Mystery of Time

Science communication in nonscience events. New opportunities found in Magic Fairs, City Visits, and Flower Festivals

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