Science and art – Evaluating public perception of the mural “Volcanoes of Chile”

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Science and art – Evaluating public perception of the mural “Volcanoes of Chile”

Author: Sofia Otero – University of Chile, Chile

Co-authors:
Luz Fariña – University of Chile

In September 2017 the Andean Geothermal Centre of Excellence launched the mural “Volcanoes of Chile”, along with Metro de Santiago in one of its subway stations. The 300m2 artwork – which includes hyper realistic images and gigantic infographics- is the first educative science mural of the city, and is located at a very busy corner of Santiago’s city center. The content and design of this mural was a cooperative work between geologists and artists, mediated by science communicators from CEGA. Over its four walls, it presents: types of volcanoes, volcanoes close to Santiago; historic volcanic eruptions, geothermal energy; and the plate subduction process. Our idea is to evaluate the public perception of this work, what is really the mural takeaway for the audience? We intend to work with two specific groups: workers from the sector adjacent to the mural (restaurants, clothes shops, etc) and residents nearby, separating the answers by gender and age to determine the appropriation of the message in different audiences. We propose a research method by open interviews to determine: What caught their attention about the mural? Which images do they like most? Which topics they identified? The answers will be an input to improve future murals we are planning to develop in the country, guiding us in how to show better scientific contents in public spaces, so that the messages are better understood by the public.

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

Presentation type: Idea in progress
Theme: Stories
Area of interest: Investigating science communication practices

Science against the wall

Author: Sofia Otero – University of Chile, Chile

Co-author:
Luz Fariña – Geothermal Centre of Excellence – Universidad de Chile

Science needs to go out into the public space to be socialized, and mural art is a powerful tool to popularize content in local communities: it brings information to everyday contexts, it embellishes the street, tells stories, and its creation implies the synthesis of concepts to facilitate their understanding. With the scientific-educational mural “Volcanoes of Chile”, the Andean Geothermal Centre of Excellence (CEGA) created a 300 m2 art work that was the resulting product of several conversation sessions between three graffiti artists, two geologists and a science communicator. The objective of the piece was to provoke the interest of pedestrians in what lies beneath our mountain rage, and to draw attention to our diverse geology. At the beginning, the scientists involved wanted to fit as much information as possible in the mural, the science communicator wanted to keep it simple, and the artists where still trying to understand what ‘subduction’ meant and if ‘pyroclastics’ could be represented in fluor colors or not. The final work, which is a mixture of giant infographics and hiper realistic recreations, is the result of a negotiation process where mutual curiosity and respect about each expert expertise was the clue to a successful large-scale pop science street art experiment. The mural is currently available for public school guided visits with geologists among requests, as an effort to bring the secrets of the volcanoes closer to the urban citizen.

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

Presentation type: Visual talk
Theme: Stories
Area of interest: Applying science communication research to practice

What are girls curious about when it comes to nature?

Author: Sofia Otero – University of Chile, Chile

Co-authors:
Luz Fariña – Andean Geothermal Centre of Excellence – Universidad de Chile
Nelida Pohl – Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity – Universidad de Chile

The project “Julieta in the Land of Girls” consists mainly on an original game set for girls (age 7 to 11 year-old) that aims to awaken their desire to explore the environment through play, and expose them to a role – being a scientist – that has often been dominated by the male gender in popular culture and academia. These game sets (activity book, backpack, flashlight, collecting jar, magnifying glass, among others) where distributed freely through an online lottery. To participate, girls had to send questions about the Chilean Andes, climate, plants and animals. Over 500 questions were received -all answered by female scientists-, which lead us to an enormous information treasure: what are girls curious about when it comes to nature? With questions like: “Why does the red tide occur and what should we do to stop it”, “Why God thought of creating lakes?”, and “Why clouds float if water weights more than air?”, we explored which science topics the girls are most interested in, conducting a content analysis to identify the types of questions they ask (why, how, what would happen if), their topics of interest and risk-related and media-related concerns. The results give a clue on how to better communicate the excitement for science to girls, with an emphasis in the communication of risk-related issues. The project “Julieta in the land of girls” was created by a group of science communicator practitioners, and consisted on the creation of the game set, and a series of workshops and field trips to national reserves with girls and female scientists.
The author has not yet submitted a copy of the full paper.

Presentation type: Show, tell and talk
Theme: Society
Area of interest: Applying science communication research to practice

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