Communicating Science with the Creative and Performing Arts

1. Communicating Science with the Creative and Performing Arts Siân Owen Science Communication Unit

2. Overview • Communicating Science with the Creative and Performing Arts • Classroom Activities • Picturing Physics • Attitudes towards Science and Art • Project Impact • Science Journeys • Summary

3. Communicating Science with the Creative and Performing Arts • Science-Art Crossover • Science inspiration to Artists • Creativity • Communicating through Creative and Performing Arts • Funding Bodies • NESTA, National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts • Wellcome Trust; PULSE • Research Councils

4. Types of Activity Outreach Teaching Organisation My PhD: Introduction • Does the way we in which we teach Physics determine how students feel about the subject? • Investigating the processes of teaching and communicating Physics with the Creative and Performing Arts

5. I really like or I quite like I neither like nor dislike Classroom Activities I don’t like much or I really dislike

6. Aims • To entertain, inform and enthuse young people (Year 8 students) about forces, particles and electricity • To provide coverage and enrichment of the appropriate parts of KS3 of the National Curriculum • To encourage schoolchildren and their teachers to explore new ways of presenting scientific material • To encourage collaboration between science and art teachers within schools

7. Walker Art Gallery Visit Conrad Shawcross – The Steady States “Conrad Shawcross marries art and physics in his giant, loopy works” The Observer “one man pottering in a shed can daily demonstrate the eternal laws of the infinite universe” Guardian Workshop Exhibition and Awards Evening

8. Picturing Physics Art Work 99 Participants 4 Schools

9. Students Attitudes towards Science and Art Before Taking Part in the Project Science 60% Like Science 24% Neither like nor dislike . Science 16% Dislike Science Art 89% Like Art 7% Neither like nor dislike Art 4% Dislike Art

10. Attitudes Towards the Project Please write down three words or sentences that describe the project for you.

11. Student Learning 76% Very Useful or Useful 24% Fairly Useful or Useless Students’ Comments “It brought science to life” (Female) “I was able to learn for myself in a fun way” (Female) “It is like seeing science” (Female) “It was more arty than science” (Male) “I already new about science that we used for the project” (Female)

12. Impact Science 85% Much more or more interesting 14% Neither more interesting nor . more boring 2% Much more or more boring Art 55% Much more or more interesting 33% Neither more interesting nor . more boring 12% Much more or more boring

13. Positive Change in Attitude Effective Enjoyable Engaging Different “it has definitely made me see science in a different point of view” (female)

14. No change in Attitude

15. Teachers’ Comments • Stimulated interest in Physics/Science with class • Saw class in different environment/class setting • Built stronger relationship with class • Fun for staff and pupils • Increased science understanding • Produced interesting art works • Shown scientific ideas in different ways

16. Drawbacks • Time consuming • Cost • Hard to coordinate Science/Art lessons • Time off timetable for gallery visit • Time dedicated to project after school

17. Science JourneysCommunicating Science with Drama Science 89% Much more or more interesting 8% Neither more interesting nor . more boring 4% Much more or more boring “we can express how we feel about science and show each other what we know” (Male) “It is something different after all” (Female) “you get to see how and why things work” (Male) “drama makes things easier to understand” (Female) “Not just riting” (Male)

18. Positive Change in Attitude Effective Enjoyable Engaging Engaging Different

19. No Change in Attitude Negative Change in Attitude

20. Communicating Science with the Creative and Performing Arts • Effective • Enjoyable • Engaging • Different Siân Owen Science Communication Unit sianowen@liv.ac.uk