“The value of working with Star Trek technology to promote science” was the title of one of the sessions at the Communicating STEM conference at Armagh Planetarium this week.
Mike McKay from the European Space Agency (ESA) gave the talk about the ESA’s education and outreach activities.
This includes a plan to launch some small satellites called Cubesats later this year. The nine satellites have been built by scientists and students at European universities, mainly using commercial off-the-shelf electronic components.
Each 1 kg CubeSat will be deployed in a low Earth orbit, and is expected to operate in orbit for up to a year using a small ground station at its university.
McKay also looked at how a wide range of activities have enabled Europe to win over two fifths of the global space market.
Scientific literacy
This is the fourth year of the annual Communicating STEM conference, which is organised by Discover Science & Engineering, NUI Galway and Engineers Ireland. It brings together people working in STEM communications and outreach from all over the island of Ireland.
A common topic throughout this year’s conference was that scientific literacy is not a luxury but part of being a full and active citizen in modern Ireland.
Andrea Bandelli, a researcher and adviser to international science communication projects, said science communication centres should foster debate about “difficult” issues such as nanotechnology risks, climate change and stem cell research.
Projects and initiatives
Dr Sally Montgomery from Belfast’s W5 science centre asked: “What matters – flash tricks or reality and vision?” She described W5 outreach projects, such as an initiative on climate change that links schools in Ethiopia, Ghana and Ireland.
Dr Martin Hendry from the University of Glasgow gave a presentation titled “Did we really land on the Moon?” He showed how to use practical science projects to explore “Moon hoax” conspiracy theories.
Fiachra Ó Marcaigh, AMAS Director, explored the opportunities and challenges of using new media channels in STEM communication, and the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, Prof Patrick Cunningham, gave a talk on “Building the Knowledge Economy” – practical measures of our progress.
Brendan Smith, Education Outreach Officer at NUI Galway, explored a wide range of science outreach and technology-enabled social projects in Co Galway. Dr Alan Blair, of Northern Ireland’s STEM review, talked about the issues raised by the review.
