ASC-WA goes wild at Perth Zoo

Posted on 28 October 2010 by Laura Miles

Wayne Walters, Perth Zoo’s Acting Education Manager, organised an action-packed program for the ASCers, with attendees taking part in the same education and communication activities used with school, community and corporate groups.

Upon arriving, Wayne and Education Officer Claire Gaskin guided ASC members through an African Painted Dog scenario, in which two teams were required to navigate their way across a grid whilst avoiding some of the dangers the dogs face in real life.

This first activity was an engaging introduction to communication and education at Perth Zoo, in which a range of tools and approaches are used to encourage visitors to connect with animal ‘ambassadors’.

From a science communication perspective, Perth Zoo not only works to raise awareness of issues such as conservation and sustainability, but also encourages visitors to change their own daily behaviour to address these issues. Often these actions are simple, but can conflict with existing attitudes. To illustrate these concepts in action, Wayne
explained one of the Zoo’s current campaigns – encouraging people to choose recycled toilet paper.

The group was then immersed in a selection of the Education Team’s ‘educational experiences’, which are designed to allow hands-on experiences around the Zoo’s own programs and operations. For example, one group of ASCers was put to work solving the problem of finding enough termites to feed the Zoo’s numbats.

It was an entertaining and engaging showcase of the many educational programs offered at the Zoo. However, the final part of the visit was the most special, in which Wayne led the party through the Zoo’s African Safari section after dark.

Many of the animals viewed were particularly active and ASCers were fortunate enough to witness the Southern White Rhinoceroses from less than a metre away, and to hear the lions ‘singing’.

ASC-WA must thank WA Secretary, Miriam Sullivan for organising the visit and Claire Gaskin from Perth Zoo for assisting with the educational activities. A special thanks to Wayne Walters for organising an excellent program and sharing Perth Zoo’s approach to communication and education.

Sarah Lau
ASC National Secretary

ASCSA Video editing workshop (1/11/10)

Posted on 20 October 2010 by lisushi

1 November 2010
6:00 pm	to	9:00 pm

ASCSA Video Production Workshop With Josh Cockfield, Rob Morrison, Deane Hutton and Steve Kern

http://ascsa-video-workshop.eventbrite.com

Date: Monday 1st November 2010

Time: 6pm-9pm

Venue: RiAus main auditorium

Video is a powerful communication tool and is no longer the sole domain of TV stations and established production companies.

Cameras are getting cheaper, editing can be done on a basic laptop and the Internet provides an inexpensive way to broadcast the finished product. This provides a fantastic opportunity for teachers, students, scientists and anyone else with an interest in science to create engaging and informative science content. One of the best things about science is that is can be a hands-on activity so it makes sense to use a visual medium to communicate scientific concepts.

But as anyone who has spent time on Youtube knows, there is an awful lot of rubbish out there when it comes to amateur videography. So how do you turn your ideas into something that won’t make people cringe?

Well, you could start by coming along to the ASCSA Video Production workshop! The workshop will be broken up into three segments: script writing, filming and editing. We will set you up in small groups and Josh Cockfield, assisted by Rob Morrison, Deane Hutton and Steve Kern, will guide you through each of these phases to produce a fun bit of science video.

Josh produces children’s science television and documentaries for Network 10. Rob and Deane have more than 65 years of experience between them as TV broadcasters and videographers. That paring of names should be familiar: Deane and Rob were the team fronting the acclaimed educational children’s TV show “the Curiosity Show” produced on Channel 9 from 1972 to 1990. Steve has worked for Warner Brothers, been a producer for Channel 9 and is currently a Senior Programs co-ordinator at the RiAus. He has a wealth of experience writing, directing and producing a range of film, television and documentary projects across digital media platforms.

Bookings: at http://ascsa-video-workshop.eventbrite.com Cost: Free to ASCSA members, non-members $40, Students $25. Payment at the door please. Workshop limited to 15 people.

Please email Richard.musgrove@sa.gov.au if you need further information. You will be sent the workshop agenda soon after registration. We would like to start at 6pm so please be there at 5:45pm. _______________________________________________ ASC-list mailing list list@asc.asn.au http://www.asc.asn.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=97&Itemid=115

Social Media workshop – Getting Started (Adelaide)

Posted on 15 October 2010 by Reganf

22 October 2010
2:00 pm	to	5:00 pm

Getting started with social media

A professional development workshop presented by Museums Australia (SA Branch)

Friday 22nd October 2010

2pm – 5pm

Edgeloe Room*, Mitchell Building, University of Adelaide

Cost: $20 MA Members

$35 nonmembers

Afternoon tea provided

RSVP ESSENTIAL to enquiries@reganforrest.com by Wednesday 20th October

The workshop is specifically designed for small museums (and other non-profits) with limited resources. Since it will assume little to no knowledge of social media, it’s perfect for digital novices and people who are interested in social media but don’t quite know where to start.

The workshop will include an introduction to social media, the available platforms (twitter, flickr, facebook etc) and what each is used for. By the end of the workshop, participants will have a basic understanding of the potential of social media for their museums, as well as some practical tips about how to get started.

Hosting the workshop will be Darren Peacock, Director of Sweet Technology. Darren has twenty years’ experience in planning and managing information and communication projects and services and established Sweet Technology in 2004. He has extensive experience with the non-profit and cultural sector, with clients including History SA, Royal Institution of Australia and Museum Victoria.

A flyer is attached – please feel free to circulate.

*we regret that this venue is not wheelchair accessible

Regan Forrest

MA SA Branch Secretary

_______________________________________________ ASC-list mailing list list@asc.asn.au http://www.asc.asn.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=97&Itemid=115

socmed flyer.pdf

National Science Communication Officers’ Forum, Melbourne

Posted on 30 September 2010 by Jesse Shore

ASC is supporting Liquid Learning’s National Science Communication Officers’ Forum to be held 29th & 30th November 2010 at Marriott Hotel, Melbourne.

This is a well structured professional development event with networking opportunities and has an impressive range of speakers including several ASC members. Dr. Rob Morrison, ASC vice-president is delivering a half-day work-shop on the 1st of December 2010.

Liquid Learning offers a 10% discount off standard registration fee to all current ASC members.

Also there is one free delegate pass to the event for a current ASC member. To apply for the free pass write in 25 words or less why you want to attend the event and email it with your full contact details to Kali Madden at office@asc.asn.au by 21 October. The ASC Executive will make the selection and I will inform the winner promptly.

For full information and registration information see http://liquidlearning.com.au/llg08/November/

Cheers, Jesse

Jesse Shore

President, Australian Science Communicators, 2010

http://www.asc.asn.au/

Mentoring programs – new ideas from WA worth talking about

Posted on 13 September 2010 by Laura Miles

A frequent request over the years from a number of student and early career members of ASC is for a mentoring program. Mentoring can be very effective in developing skills but it requires a lot of people’s time and organisational resources to sustain a properly managed program. At my recent dinner with WA members, Emma Donnelly, chair of the WA ASC branch, and some WA members came up with two ideas for mentoring which I think are worth sharing with the entire membership. Both ideas are for activities can be run at the branch level and offer abbreviated time and resource effective versions of the usual prolonged mentoring relationships.

Idea 1: Science communication speed dating event‘

‘Science speed dating’ events usually match up scientists with the public. These are fun activities which give a lay audience, or even science students, a chance to talk for five minutes at a time with a variety of science practitioners. The mentoring twist to this event is to match up novice science communicators with a range of long practicing science communicators.

Each branch invites around ten science communicators (the featured talent) from their local area who are well established in their careers. You’ll need to have people who communicate science in diverse ways and media such as a science centre presenter or interactive developer; a science curator; science presenter or producer of radio, television or blog; newspaper science journalist; free-lance writer or consultant, science organisation (government and industry) communications officer; science graphic designer; science lobbyist; science advisor to local politician; science policy developer for a government department; science teacher; science curriculum developer; university dean of science; and so on. The wider the variety of ways of communicating science and the wider the range of sciences being communicated the better. Involve government, academia and industry. This mix should be easy to achieve within each metropolitan area.

The next step is to contact a wide range of the student and early career science communicators in the area. Promote the event to the local university science communication programs as well as to all the university and TAFE science departments and science teacher training programs. Basically invite anyone you can think of who might benefit from finding out the range of science communication careers which might be available to them. Contact local branches of other professional associations who share an interest in communicating science, such as the Australian Association of Environmental Education, Australasia-Pacific Extension Network, Interpretation Australia as well as ask the ‘talent’ to encourage any novice communicators they know to attend.

Promote the event as career development, mentoring on skates (‘mentoring on speed’ may give the wrong impression), kick-start science communication, whatever. If you have members in your area who want to get a sense of what sci-com careers are like this is the event for them. Make the event free for ASC members and charge a small but meaningful amount for others.

If your event is successful in attracting more apprentices than you have masters then two or more novices can chat with each experienced person during the five minute sessions.

Idea 2: Science communication shadows

This is easier to do if organised in concert with the Science communication speed dating event. Arrange for a student of novice science communicator to ‘shadow’ an established sci-com person for a day at their workplace. The novice will observe what’s involved in a typical working day for a particular type of science communicator and should provoke useful Q&A during the day.

Some types of science communication work will be more interesting to observe (shadow) than others. But even some desk based jobs have days when there is more action than just sitting using a quill or computer.

As opposed to ‘mentoring on skates’ this is a day-long mentoring experience. The point is that it is only a one day commitment for both parties with a once off evaluation page to submit to the branch or national body for reporting and bragging rights. This activity will need a page of guidelines each for novice and mentor but is a lot simpler than a longer term mentoring project.

Both ideas, especially the ‘shadow’, can do with further development. I welcome your thoughts on the value and workability of either mentoring idea. If you like them suggest how to make them better and if you see problems let me know. Hopefully we can find a way to provide members with meaningful and cost-effective mentoring activities.

Jesse Shore
National President

How I became a science communicator

Posted on 31 August 2010 by Laura Miles

The other week I was asked by some scicomm students in Perth, what was my main bit of advice was to them? I replied ‘to take every opportunity to try many different things and gain many experiences’! I guess this reflects how my career has panned out and the fact that I’ve been lucky enough to remain flexible so that I can take opportunities when they arise.

Having studied biology and environmental sciences originally, and completing a fantastic Honours project with BP Refinery (in oily sludge bioremediation!), my first job working in a lab in Canberra with petri dishes and test tubes did not enthrall me at all. I thought ‘oh no, I’ve studied four years, and this is it?’ I think my main issue was the isolation in the lab, so I decided to undertake further environmental management studies after which I worked as an environmental consultant for a while and as a tour guide at the Australian Dinosaur Museum on the side.

While in Canberra I remember meeting someone who was in the Questacon Science Circus. It sounded really cool, and while I did apply with an audition tape (and got to be a runner up), I ended up enrolling in the science communication Masters course at CPAS the next year. At the same time, I secured a contract job through a temporary secretarial (!) agency working for the Australian Science Festival to coordinate the Solar and Advanced Technology Boat Race. These two things combined, cemented my enthusiasm for science communication. Over the next few years, I went on to work at Geoscience Australia as a promotions officer and then at the Australian National University as the science reporter for the ANU Reporter newspaper.

Itchy feet led me to take off an a year’s leave without pay to Switzerland, where I ended up staying for three years, working in a corporate communication role at a surveying and engineering company. Here I was editor for the company magazine and looked after the content of their website. I moved on to their UK office and then gained some exposure of marketing and technical communication of surveying instruments.

It was in fact on the CPAS eScinapse list that I saw the advert for my next big break. I took the job with a new European-funded project that aimed to encourage collaboration of scientists throughout Europe working on infectious disease and food safety. I set up and ran the ‘Med-Vet-Net’ communications unit for five years, a role where I was responsible for the website, publications, media liaison, event management and communication training. It was here that I developed the Med-Vet-Net internship, that consisted of four 2-week modules aimed at developing scientists’ skills in communication, presenting, working with different audiences, understanding stakeholders and embracing the web and new media. During my time at Med-Vet-Net, I formed my own company ‘Science Communications Ltd’ that has gone on to undertake science communication writing, public relations, website design, event management and communication training throughout Europe.

‘Home sweet home’ eventually called, and I’ve recently returned to my hometown of Perth after 17 years of being away. I’m still running my business and I’ve been lucky enough to win an 8-month part-time contract with the WA Museum to coordinate the International Year of Biodiversity, a position shared with Val Gregory at the Australian Museum. This role sees us working with scientific and research organisations to promote biodiversity events that are being held throughout the year as well as encourage them, community groups and the public to upload stories, images and videos to our ‘biodiversity hub’ website www.biodiversity2010.org.au.

I’m also about to start a short-term contact with Curtin University undertaking PR and event coordination for the science and engineering areas while they recruit someone permanently into the position. And, I’ve grand plans to roll out some of my science communication courses that I’ve been running in Europe, having just completed a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment so that I can become an accredited trainer in Australia.

So, my motto is ‘variety is the spice of life’. I’ve had the good fortune to work with many brilliant individuals so far over my varied career and have gained valuable mentors and some very good friends along the way. Take opportunities as they come along, but most importantly, love what you do!

Teresa Belcher
teresa [at] sciencecommunications.co.uk
teresa.belcher [at] museum.wa.gov.au
www.sciencecommuniations.eu
@SciCommTweet

ASCSA media training workshop 6 Sept- Adelaide

Posted on 25 August 2010 by lisushi

6 September 2010
6:00 pm	to	9:00 pm

Australian Science Communicators SA Event ASCSA media training workshop With Rob Morrison Date: Monday 6 September Time: 6pm-9pm Venue: RiAus Main Auditorium The Science Exchange Exchange Place Adelaide Bookings: at http://robmorrisonmediworkshop.eventbrite.com. Cost: Free to ASCSA members, non-members $40, Students $25. Payment at the door please. Workshop limited to 40 people.

What may be very important in science may still not be considered newsworthy by the media. The media have their own priorities, and it can be difficult to get media coverage for stories about scientific issues that are important but complex, or threatening, or lacking in visual possibilities, or are not in tune with journalistic misconceptions. A science story is often just not eye-catching enough to make past an editor amongst a mountain of “more” newsworthy stories. So a different approach is needed. This workshop will introduce critical issues in the preparation of a science research story for the media, whether it be a media release or a radio or TV interview. You will get to write, practice and discuss how this can be done, with Rob Morrison, one of the most experienced science communicators in Australia. He has 40 years of experience under his belt as a TV and radio broadcaster, 34 science and natural history books, with 13 more co-authored, and dozens of articles He has also won many national and international awards, including two Eureka Prizes, one being the Australian Government Eureka Prize for the Promotion of Science, the Michael Daley Award for Science Journalism, and the inaugural SA South Australian Government award for Excellence in Science Communication. In 2004, he was awarded the Order of Australia for Science Communication and Conservation. Who better to cover such ground? Please email Richard.musgrove@sa.gov.au if you need further information. You will be sent the workshop agenda on registration. _______________________________________________ ASC-list mailing list list@asc.asn.au http://www.asc.asn.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=97&Itemid=115

Climate change workshops – special offer for ASC

Posted on 29 July 2010 by Laura Miles

Starting this August is a wonderful opportunity for professional development for those working in the area of climate change communication, policy, education and engagement:
Communicating Climate Change Workshop Series

Workshop 1: Communicating the Science with Jenni Metcalfe (11 August 2010)
Workshop 2: Communicating the Story with Sohail Inayatullah (25 August 2010)
Workshop 3: Communicating for Action with Kath Fisher (8 September 2010)

ASC has collaborated with The International Association for Public Participation Australasia and the Sydney Environmental Educators Network to present this series of three innovative workshops with three leading practitioners during August and September 2010. There is a substantial discount for members of these organisations to attend the sessions. Spaces are limited and if you are keen to attend book now. You can book for the entire series or for individual workshops.

The series is designed for anyone working in the area of climate change communication, policy, education and engagement and is hosted by the Powerhouse Museum as part of the Ultimo Science Festival.

Cost: $110 for IAP2, AAEE and ASC members, students and NGOs (incl GST), $220 other non-members (incl GST)
Venue: Powerhouse Museum, Board Room

Book today – don’t miss out. Go to www.iap2.org.au/events for information and to register (scroll through the Events page to August 2010 and September; IAP2 NSW – Communicating Climate Change – Workshop…). The workshops are three hours long and there are two sessions each day.

Follow this link to view the flyer of the workshop series: Climate change workshop flyer

Jesse Shore
President

Australasian Medical Writers Association annual conference

Posted on 21 July 2010 by leohman

27 August 2010

28 August 2010

The 27th Annual Australasian Medical Writers Association Conference, Writing in Our World will be held from 27–28 August in Melbourne at the State Library of Victoria.
Conference highlights include:
• Keynote and opening speaker: Victorian Governor Professor David de Kretser, endocrine researcher and founder of Andrology Australia.
• Sessions on: exploring the environment and our health, taboos, ethical issues in writing and an insider’s view of how the media covered the separation of the conjoined twins Trishna and Krishna.
• Professional Development workshops are offered on: social media, writing for the general public and making the most of the Cochrane library.
• Margaret Simons will speak at the conference dinner.
The entire program and registration form are on the AMWA website www.medicalwriters.org. Don’t miss the 6 August earlybird registration deadline.

Australian Science Communicators

for those who make science accessible

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