Scientific Ocean Drilling

Group 2 Members and Minutes:
Members: Randi Wold-Brennon, Kira Homola, Brandi Murphy, Marlo Garnsworthy, Susanne Straub, Kevin Kurtz, Emily Estes, Rehemat Bhatia, Deborah Tangunan
Minutes:
Tell a story, ideally through something that resonates with the audience
Mailing lists aren’t terribly effective as it’s hard to find people for that list that aren’t already involved
Schools are easier than libraries/museums because you have a good idea of attendance in advance
Parents get excited when kids get excited
Connecting with the individual so they feel like a part of the science
Philippines part of AGU program, collaborated with childrens museum, “seas and oceans” storybook that the children read to the adults after a lesson from storytellers, microscopes with foram sands to look at
Something that children can hold and interact with

At our oceanography university campus, we have an annual open house where families enjoy a day of interactive exhibits all over campus including a tour of our ship. It's a very effective event, I would love to hear thoughts on how we could engage a more diverse crowd of attendees.

Jamboard from group 2

Some strategies mentioned on the Jamboard in my group for tools - conversations at local events (farmers markets "Ask A Scientist" booth, community festivals), and using art for engagement (like the Tempestry Project with the knitted temperature scarves, Show Your Stripes, etc.).

This Pew Research report appeared in my Twitter feed last evening, and I thought it was relevant as we consider using technology tools for outreach and engagement, especially when discussing who has access and who is not included by using these tools: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/06/22/digital-divide-persists-even...

Important points from the report: "Roughly a quarter of adults with household incomes below $30,000 a year (24%) say they don’t own a smartphone. About four-in-ten adults with lower incomes do not have home broadband services (43%) or a desktop or laptop computer (41%). And a majority of Americans with lower incomes are not tablet owners." Another point: "With fewer options for online access at their disposal, Americans with lower incomes are relying more on smartphones. As of early 2021, 27% of adults living in households earning less than $30,000 a year are smartphone-only internet users – meaning they own a smartphone but do not have broadband internet at home."

The Pew Report for Social Media Use in 2021 is also useful for seeing which groups are using which platforms (lots of demographic data (age/education/race/ethnicity/etc.) by social media platform): https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/04/07/social-media-use-in-2021/

Points from this report: "With the exception of YouTube and Reddit, most platforms show little [statistically significant] growth since 2019." Another point: "Even as other platforms do not nearly match the overall reach of YouTube or Facebook, there are certain sites or apps, most notably Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, that have an especially strong following among young adults."

The Center for Science Collaboration and Community Engagement has free resources that may be helpful for those organizing events/sessions. Available for download is "A guide to using virtual events to facilitate community building: Making a PACT for more engaging virtual meetings and events" (three additional online PDF resources relating to virtual events are linked on the page) - https://zenodo.org/record/4987666#.YNNkIBNKhz8

Thanks for Sharing these very helpful resources, Laura.

Kira: Low hanging fruit would seem to be having faculty or staff develop relationships with HS partners in Providence and scheduling regular field trips. Imagine doing this when the R/V Endeavor is around for tours! These things likely take a couple of champions that are in it for the long haul so the relationships are durable (ecosystem nodes).