The scientific literacy team has had a busy summer. Four members of the Seattle pod led workshops on oceanography and immunology at Launch, a summer day camp for kids in Seattle. Another member of our pod gave a tour of her lab for girls in the hands-on STEM camp run by the YWCA of Olympia. In September, we capped off the summer with an event at Ada’s Technical Books. Joy DeLyria gave a useful and inspiring presentation about having productive conversations about controversial science. One of her key messages was that facts alone are not going to convince people. This means engaging with and building relationships with people is just as important as knowing your science.
Joy DeLyria discusses how to talk about controversial science.
Our plan going forward is to host one larger event per season. In the Fall, we’re going to focus on building relationships with organizations in our local community. We’ll provide resources for the whole Seattle pod about the value of reaching out to local groups, such as neighborhood schools, and how to do this.
Our team meets on the third Tuesday of the month on Skype. Anyone who is interested in learning more about or joining the scientific literacy is welcome to attend. Please email hdirector7@gmail.com for more details.
-Hannah Director & Nicole Baker, Scientific Literacy Team Leads