Education at MHS

A report from the ‘red carpet’

Objects of Invention

Our Objects of Invention public engagement initiative with the Department of Engineering Sciences, which reached the national finals in this year’s Engage Competition, was made possible thanks to the efforts of 18 engineers and the training in public engagement provided by the Oxford University Museums and Collections Joint Museums Education Service. One of those engineers was DPhil student Justine Schluntz, who attended the awards ceremony at the Natural History Museum in London. Here are Justine’s thoughts about the Objects of Invention project itself and the awards ceremony for the finalists.

DPhil engineer Justine Schluntz (right) with Christopher Parkin of MHS and Caroline Cheeseman of the Joint Museums Education Service at the Engage awards ceremony

“The Objects of Invention project provided public engagement training for engineering students at the University of Oxford (myself included) and culminated in a public event at the Museum of the History of Science which attracted over 2,000 visitors in a single day. We also carried out three schools events at the Museum.

The ceremony in London kicked off with a wonderful talk by Professor Alice Roberts about the importance of public engagement, especially for science researchers. Next, Sophie Duncan, the deputy director of National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE), introduced the finalists for each of the awards. For each award category the audience was treated to a set of excellent short videos summarising the shortlisted projects prior to the announcement of the category winner.

The winner of the STEM category was a project called “The Enlightenment Café: Deadinburgh”.  The Deadinburgh audience worked with scientists and actors to learn about epidemiology and solve a mock zombie epidemic in Edinburgh.

We had the opportunity to meet some of the amazing people who had worked on other shortlisted projects at a reception following the awards ceremony. The atmosphere was brilliantly upbeat, and we left with a wealth of ideas, which we will look to implement in future public engagement projects.”

Thanks to Justine for her write-up of the event and for getting involved in the project in the first place. Although we didn’t win, to be shortlisted from over 240 entrants nationally is a great testament to everyone’s hard work and skill.

Objects of Invention

Objects of Invention 1

It is always nice when something you have worked on is acknowledged by others, so we are very pleased to hear that our Objects of Invention initiative, which ran during 2013, has been shortlisted from over 230 entries nationally in the Engage Competition, run by the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE).

Objects of Invention 2Objects of Invention was developed in partnership with the University’s Department of Engineering Science and funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering‘s Ingenious programme for public engagement. The idea was generated by our lead education officer Chris Parkin as a way to capitalise on the Museum’s remarkable collection of inventive artefacts while enabling young student engineers to gain experience in public engagement.

A total of 18 engineers, mainly graduate students, were involved in the project including a strong contingent of biomedical engineers. After a series of training sessions in methods of public engagement and museum object handling, supported by the Joint Museums’ Volunteers Service, the students devised activities for a family day in March to coincide with National Science and Engineering Week 2013. This event attracted a near-record single day audience of over 2,000 visitors.

This was quickly followed by a schools’ event and two further days for schools in June which together attracted over 160 secondary students from local schools. Activities ranged from experimenting with gyroscopes and Stirling engines, to steam pumps and mobile medical devices.

The winners of the Engage Competition Awards will be announced on Wednesday 11 June at a ceremony at the Natural History Museum, London. The competition forms part of Universities Week, a week-long celebration of public engagement with research that is taking place across the UK from the 9 June.

Fingers crossed on the night – watch this space for further news!

Unlocking the Brain

BAW

Next week is international Brain Awareness Week and we couldn’t let this pass without some hands-on brain investigation in the Museum. Like last year, we have teamed up with University of Oxford neuroscientists to bring you five days of family friendly activities, games and interactive experiments.

Researchers from the University will be presenting a series of interactive demonstrations suitable for everyone aged six and over. Visualize your own speech sounds, and learn how our ears and brains process them. See how functional imaging provides a window into the working of the brain; and have a go at using your brainwaves to move an object! This and much more to test, intrigue and indeed unlock the secrets of your brain.

Unlocking the Brain is running daily, 12-5pm, from Tuesday 11 to Friday 14 March, and again on Sunday 16 March, 2-5pm (on Saturday we have the exciting Crystals Day too).

Left and right brain: myths and reality
On Thursday 13 March at 7pm, Professor Dorothy Bishop from the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford will present a free lecture at the Museum looking at the role of the brain’s two hemispheres.

It’s common to hear claims that you can “train the right side of your brain” or that the left side of the brain is analytic and the right side intuitive. But how do scientists study the function of the two sides of the brain to test such claims, and do people vary in how the two sides of the brain are organised? If so, does it matter? Come along to find out…