From the highest reaches of the atmosphere to the deepest caverns below, the geosciences is a fascinating field dedicated to understanding just how the Earth (and other worlds) tick. But to many people, the Earth, planetary and space sciences are far from interesting or important. So how can geoscientists share their enthusiasm with the public? Catherine Pennington, an engineering geologist and science writer at the British Geological Survey (BGS), attended a one-day science communication conference to find out.
Listen to her podcast episode where she chats with conference speakers and encourages scientists to grasp the nettle and enter into an open dialogue with the public. This post is modified from a version which first appeared the on British Geological Survey’s blog, GeoBlogy. Read the original post here.
This is really starting to get on my nerves now. For the umpteenth time, I have heard reference made to the world’s definition of boring: geology. What?!
WHAT?!
Catherine Pennington at the The Geological Society Burlington House (Credit: BGS © UKRI 2018)
Talk to anybody at BGS about their science and they will be hopping about with enthusiasm.
So why doesn’t the rest of the world see this? Is it because we geologists are really boring, or is it actually that we need to be better at talking about what we do?
This year I went to London to attend a conference run by the Petroleum Group at the Geological Society, titled Communicating Geoscience: Building Public Interest and Promoting Inclusive Dialogue. Have a listen to the podcast to hear all about it.
This one-day conference aimed to look in-depth at geoscience communication in the energy industry in order to better achieve effective communication. (Credit: BGS © UKRI 2018)
Thank you to all the speakers and organisers at the conference. I have used extracts from talks and interviews given by:
Iain Stewart, University of Plymouth
Laura Roberts, Petrotechnical Data Systems
Jen Roberts, Strathclyde University
Hazel Gibson, University of Plymouth
John Underhill, Heriot-Watt University
Anna Szolucha, University of Bergen
Stephen Harris, The Conversation
Stephanie Zihms, Heriot-Watt University
Jan Freedman, Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery
Thanks also, of course, to the Petroleum Group of the Geological Society, particularly Kirstie Wright, Heriot-Watt University.
By Catherine Pennington, British Geological Survey
