Marja Seidel (Carnegie Observatories) - Outreach Presentation

Science communication is essential for successful science. To foster the support of the general public, share scientific discoveries, and particularly to motivate others to be curious and explore, I have been an active science communicator in outreach events and expeditions worldwide.

 

How can we reach more people and excite them with our discoveries? How can we convince every person that science is important and enable them to be science-literate? And where do we start?

 

In this short talk I will summarize my on-going efforts in science outreach and discuss IPAC’s exceptional opportunities through the Universe of Learning, with a focus on multimedia.

 

One of my major aims is and has been to reach under-served communities locally and worldwide. Also, one of the most important factors for me has been to develop lasting programs through training local teachers and collaborators and providing educational resources, including video productions. The latter are a particularly great tool to reach a large audience and communities worldwide. I will discuss briefly my past and on-going video programs, including cross-disciplinary projects. Finally, a major question is how to evaluate and quantify the impact of outreach.

 

To start the discussion, I will sketch my major thoughts and ideas concerning IPAC’s unique capabilities to revolutionize the scientific literacy, understanding and excitement for science in Pasadena, nationally and internationally.