{"id":668,"date":"2019-08-22T12:00:19","date_gmt":"2019-08-22T02:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/mathssciencechampions\/?p=668"},"modified":"2024-05-23T10:43:35","modified_gmt":"2024-05-23T00:43:35","slug":"friends-romans-countrymen-lets-talk-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/blog\/2019\/08\/friends-romans-countrymen-lets-talk-science\/","title":{"rendered":"Friends, Romans, Countrymen \u2013 Let\u2019s talk Science!"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Poppy Watson<\/h4>\n

We know through surveys that many people believe that scientists should spend more time discussing their work with the public.\u00a0We also\u00a0know that representation of females in\u00a0science is not great.\u00a0But\u00a0is there a way we can tackle both these issues?<\/p>\n

Introducing\u00a0Soapbox Science<\/a>\u00a0–\u00a0a\u00a0unique science-themed event\u00a0where high-profile, female scientists discuss their work with anyone who will listen.\u00a0The idea is simple \u2013 four \u2018soapboxes\u2019 are set up in a small central space and twelve female scientists have one hour each on one of the podiums. Members of the public can come and listen to each scientist talk about their work and ask questions or start discussions.\u00a0People do not have to sign up and plan to go, they can spontaneously listen to and engage as they wander through town.<\/p>\n

Founded in London in 2011, Soapbox Science has now spread to over 20 cities across the world. This year, it finally made its way to Sydney, taking\u00a0part outside of the Museum of Contemporary\u00a0Art at Circular Quay\u00a0and featuring twelve scientists from local universities discussing subject matter ranging from volcanoes to quantum mechanics to the brain.<\/p>\n

\"\"
One of the soapboxes featuring Dr\u00a0Domique\u00a0Tanner with the iconic Sydney Opera House in the background.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

I worked as a volunteer\u00a0at the event, performing a range of\u00a0tasks\u00a0including directing people to the event,\u00a0observing how long people stayed at the event, and\u00a0organizing\u00a0exit\u00a0questionnaires. As the first four speakers took to their\u00a0podiums,\u00a0I was nervous. Would anyone\u00a0would come and listen? Would they stay? Would they understand?<\/p>\n

\"\"
Me trying to lure crowds<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I needn\u2019t have worried \u2013 as soon as people saw what was happening or heard the word \u2018science\u2019 they headed over to check it out.\u00a0Once there, most scientists only spoke\u00a0for\u00a0ten\u00a0minutes about their\u00a0research before\u00a0having\u00a0the rest of the hour flow organically as new people arrived and new discussions started up.<\/p>\n

Whilst observing with the crowd –\u00a0I also learnt a lot.\u00a0Not only facts about science but also about how to communicate science effectively.\u00a0For the first hour I observed\u00a0people near the podium of Dr. Gal Winter<\/a> who talked about:\u00a0\u201cThe gut microbiome: Ask not what you can do for your microbes but what they can do for YOU\u201d<\/i>.<\/i>\u00a0Gal used some clever tricks to make her talk fun and engage people. As people approached, she said \u201ccatch\u201d and chucked them a bag of sand weighing 1.5 kg to illustrate how much of our body weight (approx. ~2%)\u00a0is made up of microbes.\u00a0This trick meant that people moved closer to catch the bag and were then hooked into the topic. Lots of people wanted to talk about probiotics (whether they are worth it), links\u00a0between gut microbes and depression,\u00a0and\u00a0fecal\u00a0transplants. At one stage\u00a0Dr Winter\u00a0donned a Tina Turner wig and got the crowd to sing\u00a0\u201c<\/i>W<\/i>hat\u2019s the gut got to<\/i>\u00a0do<\/i>, got to do with it, what\u2019s the gut but a host for a million\u00a0microbes\u201d\u2026<\/i>amazing.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Dr Gal Winter throwing bags of sand to her crowd.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Dr Lisa Williams on her soapbox.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
<\/div>\n

I\u00a0also learned a lot from\u00a0my colleague Dr Lisa\u00a0<\/a>Williams<\/a> from UNSW who talked about\u00a0\u201cIs the pursuit of happiness shortsighted?\u201d.<\/i>\u00a0It turns out that\u00a0pursuit of what makes us feel \u2018happy\u2019 is not a good strategy to wellbeing because\u00a0happiness is\u00a0a single, short-lived\u00a0positive emotion. Instead,\u00a0we\u00a0should\u00a0focus\u00a0on a wider range of positive emotions\u00a0by\u00a0doing things that make us\u00a0feel, for example,\u00a0grateful\u00a0or\u00a0proud.\u00a0This\u00a0fascinating topic\u00a0generated\u00a0lots of\u00a0discussions\u00a0from the public\u00a0on cultural differences in happiness expectations, vocabulary around emotions and whether tips given in women\u2019s magazines are based in scientific evidence.<\/p>\n

The people I interviewed at the end (ranging from 6 – 80 years old) said they thoroughly enjoyed the event \u2013 with all of them saying that they never or rarely attended science events and were just walking past but ended up staying to listen to all of the scientists.<\/p>\n

So\u00a0can Soapbox Science help scientists spend more time discussing their work with the public? Yes<\/p>\n

Can Soapbox Science help improve\u00a0representation of females in\u00a0science? Definitely!<\/p>\n

Will you see me on a soapbox next year? Watch this space!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Note: Soapbox Science Sydney was generously supported by\u00a0UTS Faculty of Science,\u00a0UTS Women in Engineering & IT,\u00a0ACEMS<\/a>,\u00a0EQUS<\/a>,\u00a0FLEET,\u00a0POCD Scientific,\u00a0Franklin Women<\/a>,\u00a0Australian Science Communicators<\/a>,\u00a0National Science Week\u00a0<\/a>&\u00a0Sydney Science Festival<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Follow Poppy<\/a> on Twitter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Poppy Watson We know through surveys that many people believe that scientists should spend more time discussing their work with the public.\u00a0We also\u00a0know that representation of females in\u00a0science is not great.\u00a0But\u00a0is there a way we can tackle both these issues? Introducing\u00a0Soapbox Science\u00a0–\u00a0a\u00a0unique science-themed event\u00a0where high-profile, female scientists discuss their work with anyone who will … Continue reading “Friends, Romans, Countrymen \u2013 Let\u2019s talk Science!”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101364,"featured_media":680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[57407,29213],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","category-outreach"],"yoast_head":"\nFriends, Romans, Countrymen \u2013 Let\u2019s talk Science! - UNSW STEMM Champions Program Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/blog\/2019\/08\/friends-romans-countrymen-lets-talk-science\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Friends, Romans, Countrymen \u2013 Let\u2019s talk Science! - UNSW STEMM Champions Program Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Poppy Watson We know through surveys that many people believe that scientists should spend more time discussing their work with the public.\u00a0We also\u00a0know that representation of females in\u00a0science is not great.\u00a0But\u00a0is there a way we can tackle both these issues? Introducing\u00a0Soapbox Science\u00a0–\u00a0a\u00a0unique science-themed event\u00a0where high-profile, female scientists discuss their work with anyone who will … Continue reading "Friends, Romans, Countrymen \u2013 Let\u2019s talk Science!"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/blog\/2019\/08\/friends-romans-countrymen-lets-talk-science\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UNSW STEMM Champions Program Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-08-22T02:00:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-23T00:43:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/files\/2019\/08\/tmp_1565762292577.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1328\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"747\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"poppywatson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"poppywatson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/blog\/2019\/08\/friends-romans-countrymen-lets-talk-science\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/blog\/2019\/08\/friends-romans-countrymen-lets-talk-science\/\",\"name\":\"Friends, Romans, Countrymen \u2013 Let\u2019s talk Science! - UNSW STEMM Champions Program Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/blog\/2019\/08\/friends-romans-countrymen-lets-talk-science\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/blog\/2019\/08\/friends-romans-countrymen-lets-talk-science\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/files\/2019\/08\/tmp_1565762292577.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-08-22T02:00:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-05-23T00:43:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/#\/schema\/person\/293dd039029a76a22fc284313a546c34\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/blog\/2019\/08\/friends-romans-countrymen-lets-talk-science\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/blog\/2019\/08\/friends-romans-countrymen-lets-talk-science\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/blog\/2019\/08\/friends-romans-countrymen-lets-talk-science\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/files\/2019\/08\/tmp_1565762292577.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/files\/2019\/08\/tmp_1565762292577.jpg\",\"width\":1328,\"height\":747,\"caption\":\"One of the soapboxes featuring Dr\u00a0Domique\u00a0Tanner with the iconic Sydney Opera House in the background.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/blog\/2019\/08\/friends-romans-countrymen-lets-talk-science\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Friends, Romans, Countrymen \u2013 Let\u2019s talk Science!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/\",\"name\":\"UNSW STEMM Champions Program Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/#\/schema\/person\/293dd039029a76a22fc284313a546c34\",\"name\":\"poppywatson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cb28202fc3d9ecde0fc8efb3df10dde37f899ac2ca4a5dd42f515f46ff60cbbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cb28202fc3d9ecde0fc8efb3df10dde37f899ac2ca4a5dd42f515f46ff60cbbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"poppywatson\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/blog\/author\/poppywatson\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Friends, Romans, Countrymen \u2013 Let\u2019s talk Science! - UNSW STEMM Champions Program Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/blog\/2019\/08\/friends-romans-countrymen-lets-talk-science\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Friends, Romans, Countrymen \u2013 Let\u2019s talk Science! - UNSW STEMM Champions Program Blog","og_description":"By Poppy Watson We know through surveys that many people believe that scientists should spend more time discussing their work with the public.\u00a0We also\u00a0know that representation of females in\u00a0science is not great.\u00a0But\u00a0is there a way we can tackle both these issues? Introducing\u00a0Soapbox Science\u00a0–\u00a0a\u00a0unique science-themed event\u00a0where high-profile, female scientists discuss their work with anyone who will … Continue reading \"Friends, Romans, Countrymen \u2013 Let\u2019s talk Science!\"","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/blog\/2019\/08\/friends-romans-countrymen-lets-talk-science\/","og_site_name":"UNSW STEMM Champions Program Blog","article_published_time":"2019-08-22T02:00:19+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-05-23T00:43:35+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1328,"height":747,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/files\/2019\/08\/tmp_1565762292577.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"poppywatson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"poppywatson","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/blog\/2019\/08\/friends-romans-countrymen-lets-talk-science\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/blog\/2019\/08\/friends-romans-countrymen-lets-talk-science\/","name":"Friends, Romans, Countrymen \u2013 Let\u2019s talk Science! - UNSW STEMM Champions Program Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/blog\/2019\/08\/friends-romans-countrymen-lets-talk-science\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/blog\/2019\/08\/friends-romans-countrymen-lets-talk-science\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/files\/2019\/08\/tmp_1565762292577.jpg","datePublished":"2019-08-22T02:00:19+00:00","dateModified":"2024-05-23T00:43:35+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/#\/schema\/person\/293dd039029a76a22fc284313a546c34"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/blog\/2019\/08\/friends-romans-countrymen-lets-talk-science\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/blog\/2019\/08\/friends-romans-countrymen-lets-talk-science\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/blog\/2019\/08\/friends-romans-countrymen-lets-talk-science\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/files\/2019\/08\/tmp_1565762292577.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/files\/2019\/08\/tmp_1565762292577.jpg","width":1328,"height":747,"caption":"One of the soapboxes featuring Dr\u00a0Domique\u00a0Tanner with the iconic Sydney Opera House in the background."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/blog\/2019\/08\/friends-romans-countrymen-lets-talk-science\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Friends, Romans, Countrymen \u2013 Let\u2019s talk Science!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/","name":"UNSW STEMM Champions Program Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/#\/schema\/person\/293dd039029a76a22fc284313a546c34","name":"poppywatson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cb28202fc3d9ecde0fc8efb3df10dde37f899ac2ca4a5dd42f515f46ff60cbbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cb28202fc3d9ecde0fc8efb3df10dde37f899ac2ca4a5dd42f515f46ff60cbbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"poppywatson"},"url":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/blog\/author\/poppywatson\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/files\/2019\/08\/tmp_1565762292577.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101364"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=668"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":683,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668\/revisions\/683"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/stemmchampions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}