Public Engagement with Science Graduate Course

Emily Simpson Selected as Center’s Outreach and Social Media Coordinator for 2020-2021

Meet Emily Simpson, who is serving as the Outreach and Social Media Coordinator for the UC Center for Public Engagement with Science this academic year.

Emily Simpson, surrounded by historic casts of a dinosaur being restored for display

Emily is a Ph.D student in the geology department. She is focusing on vertebrate paleontology and stable isotope ecology, and will be studying the impact of a global cooling on a mammal community in Egypt that is about 34 million years old. Emily fell in love with paleoecology because of its interdisciplinary nature, and because she enjoys using the stories of how past plants and animals interacted to teach others about science.

Emily grew up near Raleigh, North Carolina. She started getting involved in science education and outreach almost 15 years ago at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences as a volunteer during special events and in the paleontology lab, as well as with the North Carolina Fossil Club. Since that time, she has also worked at Ashfall Fossil Beds. Before coming here, she did a master’s at East Tennessee State University in geology, where she researched the impact of mammoths and other Pleistocene megafauna on the Appalachian balds ecosystems in Saltville, Virginia. While there, she helped plan outreach events at Gray Fossil Site and worked with teachers as a science educator at a local elementary school. Telling the stories of sites that she has worked at to children and families gives her the opportunity to teach science to others in approachable ways.

In her spare time she enjoys continuing to teach others science through volunteer work at museums and schools, exploring nature, and doing a variety of crafts. She looks forward to continuing to communicate science to others through this platform as well! Emily hopes to eventually be a curator at a natural science museum, where she can continue both paleontology research and science communication as well as spearhead programs to continue helping local students explore science.

Thanks to the Taft Center for making this possible by selecting the Center for Public Engagement with Science as a Taft Research Group this year!

Public Engagement with Science Graduate Course

“Mission: Grow Cincinnati” Contest Winners

Have you gardened during the COVID-19 shutdown? In the 2020 spring semester, students in the Public Engagement in Science graduate course partnered with the Cincinnati Nature Center to inspire the community to learn about species of plants and animals originally from our region and inspire people to plant these species on their own properties. When COVID-19 led to stay-at-home orders, this took the form of hosting a contest akin to a virtual science fair for K-12 students. They were challenged to create informative materials for anyone interested in growing and attracting native species in their own yards.

Local K-12 students submitted a variety of posters related to any native plant, animal, or community of interest to them. While there were many creative submissions, winners were selected based on their creativity, the research they did, and how well they communicated their information to the audience of their choice. Both the graduate students and Cincinnati Nature Center were impressed by what was accomplished by the competitors.

We are excited to present the winners of the contest, and hope that their creations will aid anyone interested in growing plants beneficial to southern Ohio. Congratulations to Emma Jeffers, Elliot Griesser, Carson DuBrucq, Kacy Nagy, and Madison Brown! We sincerely hope you enjoy your prizes and wish you success in the coming school year!

CNC’s announcement of your accomplishment can be found here.

Posters submitted by K-12 students for the contest hosted by PEWS and CNC

Click the student’s names to view their work at full size!

1st place: Emma Jeffers

2nd place: Elliot Greisser

3rd place (tied): Carson DeBrucq and Kacy Nagy

Honorable Mention: Madison Brown

Public Engagement with Science Graduate Course

Genomics Partnership with Cincinnati Children’s, NHGRI, and the Smithsonian

A poster related to genomics and ancestry created by PEWS students in partnership with Cincinnati Children’s hospital.

Graduate students from the Public Engagement with Science Course partnered with Cincinnati Children’s Center for Pediatric Genomics and the National Human Genomic Research Institute (NHGRI) to produce informational panels (posters) for a local exhibit on the human genome. The project is based on the Smithsonian Genome Exhibition, which has recently developed the option of DIY exhibitions. Groups from around the country can access the Smithsonian panels and create their own accompanying panels for displays in their local communities.

A poster related to genomics and environment created by PEWS students in partnership with Cincinnati Children’s hospital.

The student group created two panels: the first panel talks about the differences between race, ethnicity, and ancestry and the second talks about the relation between environmental epigenomics and discrimination. The group collaborated with Dr. Tesfaye Mersha, a professor at Cincinnati Children’s and UC, on both panels.

This is part of an effort to educate and engage the public about genetics and the human genome, an aim shared by Cincinnati Children’s Center for Pediatric Genomics and the UC Center for Public Engagement with Science. The students who developed this project plan to work with Children’s to make these educational panels available to Cincinnati schools and to display them here at UC.

The panels, as well as instructions on how to create your own Smithsonian Genome DIY exhibit, are available at this website: https://cincinnatigenomicspanels.wordpress.com/.

Public Engagement with Science Graduate Course

Discover Fossils of Ohio: A Guided Activity Kit

A conglomerate, or a rock holding a multitude of fossils, held by one of our students

A team of students in the Public Engagement with Science Graduate Course this past semester partnered with the UC Field Station to create a science kit focused on local fossils.

The Discover Fossils of Ohio kit contains materials and activities for introducing students to some of Ohio’s major fossil groups, as well as techniques and classification systems that scientists use to study fossils. These activities can be adapted for use with late elementary school to high school students and are aligned with several of Ohio’s learning goals for science education.

Fossil of a brachiopod, a type of shelled marine animal

The kit includes a presenter’s guide, activity pages, fact pages, a collection of fossils to use for the activities, and a presenter’s survey. For example, in one activity, students use a dichotomous key to classify the fossils that come with their kit, identifying key features of the fossilized organisms in the process.

The team’s partner, the UC Field Station includes a 17.6 acre renovated farm roughly 20 miles northwest of the University of Cincinnati Main Campus. The Field Station blends high-level science with deep-woods know-how through a timeless connection to the great outdoors.

Center Events, Public Engagement with Science Graduate Course

Virtual Discussion About the Science of Psychedelics

What do you know about psychedelics? A group from the Public Engagement with Science Graduate Course has partnered with the Mercantile Library to host a discussion of Michael Pollan’s book, How To Change Your Mind. The virtual discussion will take place on May 18th, focusing on the science and history of psychedelics and other mind-altering practices, as told by Michael Pollan in the book.

The first part of the discussion will assess the historical and scientific claims Pollan makes with reference to two scientific papers: one from 1966 detailing an experiment done on the effects of psychedelics on spiritual experiences, the other a 2014 study on the effects of psilocybin on brain states. Which claims are most interesting and why? How can scientific laypeople leverage other scientific sources to fact-check information? And how much responsibility should we feel to do so?

The second part of the discussion will focus on participants’ reactions to the book. Are we convinced by Pollan’s arguments? Do we disagree with anything? Has he motivated us to “change our minds”?

Please join for this fascinating discussion intertwining science, good writing, and psychadelics. The discussion will be virtual via the Zoom platform. This event is free and open to the public (members and non-members of the Mercantile Library alike).

To register click here or email reservations@mercantilelibrary.com. The link to Zoom discussion will be sent via email prior to May 18th.

Public Engagement with Science Graduate Course

Poster Contest for the Cincinnati Nature Center!

Promotional poster distributed to local teachers about the Plant Native! competition held by PEWS students and CNC

Attention all K-12 students, parents, and teachers! We have an opportunity for students to show off their creative skills and love for plants and the environment!

The Cincinnati Nature Center aims to encourage the wider community to “plant native”; that is encourage people to grow things in their yards that are naturally found in the region. With that in mind, we are challenging K-12 students to create an informative poster or infogram. Prizes may include native plants, a free pass to the nature center, or a gift certificate to our nature shop. In addition, the winning posters, as well as the runners up, will be posted on CNC’s social media as a resource for people who want to try their hand at planting native!

To get you started, you can use information from these resources: https://www.cincynature.org/conservation/resources-11/ . You can also draw from other reliable sources if you’d like, as long as the information on your poster is accurate and reflects your own work. A separate page should be submitted citing sources that you got your information from. This page should also include a single sentence stating your targeted audience for your poster.

There are many aspects to planting native. Your poster can focus any of them, as long as it either encourages people to “plant native” or discusses why the topic is important and is relevant to the greater Cincinnati area. Posters will be judged based on the information presented, the visual appeal, the goal of the project, grammar and organization, creativity, the intended audience, and accurate citations. Posters may be created by hand or digitally, but MUST be sent to plantnative@cincynature.org by May 8^th 2020 as a jpg or pdf with “Native Plant Project” in the headline to be judged. This includes the citations page, audience statement page, and the poster itself. The student’s name, grade, and school should also be in the email. Download the rubric below.

contest-rubric Download

Public Engagement with Science Graduate Course

Public Engagement with Science Graduate Course Concludes

Screenshot of the final meeting of the PEWS 2020 course, which met online for the last part of the semester

The final meeting for the Public Engagement with Science graduate course just wrapped up. Students from MA and PhD programs in Anthropology, Biology, Geology, Philosophy, Professional Writing, and Sociology explored the theory and practice of engaging with the public about science. Students worked in interdisciplinary teams to develop outreach projects with local science engagement organizations.

Watch this space in the coming weeks to learn about their projects with the Cincinnati Nature Center, Mercantile Library, University of Cincinnati Field Station, and Children’s Hospital Center for Pediatric Genomics.

Center Events, Public Engagement with Science Graduate Course

COVID-19 Updates for Center

Image shows a person using hand sanitizer.

We want to give everyone a few updates about how the spread of COVID-19 will impact Center activities going forward. Of course, this information is subject to change as time goes on.

Workshop: The Workshop on Public Engagement with Science that was previously scheduled for May 13-15 has been postponed. We are currently working on figuring out new dates, and will make an announcement when that is figured out.

Public Engagement with Science Graduate Class: The University of Cincinnati has extended Spring Break through Wednesday March 25. After that date classes will move primarily online. The Public Engagement with Science Graduate Class will also therefore be moving online. Projects with community partners will continue, with appropriate modifications.

Social Engaged Philosophy of Science Research Group (SEPOS): SEPOS meetings are cancelled from March 13 to April 10.

If you have any questions about Center activities please contact Director Angela Potochnik at potochaa@ucmail.uc.edu or Post-Doc Melissa Jacquart at jacquama@ucmail.uc.edu.

Public Engagement with Science Graduate Course

Community Partners Panel

Brenda Hunda, Amy Hunter, and Curtis Webb, who participated in a community panel during the Public Engagement with Science course this week.

Thank you to Brenda Hunda, Amy Hunter, and Curtis Webb for joining the Public Engagement with Science class last week! Brenda talked with us about her work at the Cincinnati Museum Center and reminded us the importance of meeting an audience where they are and connecting to their lives. Amy talked about the founding of the Mercantile Library and its goal of providing education to people who do not otherwise have access to it. Curtis discussed activities of the Cincinnati Project, including one on women of color in Cincinnati, and another on evictions. Other topics of discussion included public access to information, reaching families rather that just individuals, and learning through play. The class was encouraged to be flexible and make sure that outreach is alway accessible to everyone. This was a great way for the students to connect with potential project partners!

Public Engagement with Science Graduate Course

Matt Stonecash’s video about Professional Writing

Professional writing video from Matt Stonecash

A few weeks ago students in the Public Engagement with Science class created 5-minute lightening-talk videos explaining their research. The goal was to “rip off the band-aid” and get students out there in a public-facing way. Here is a great example from Matt Stonecash, in which he describes his work in Professional Writing. Check it out!