nanila | Entries tagged with royal society summer exhibition

[From L to R: Me, Peter, Sam, Agata, Geraint in our formal attire at the Comet Revealed stand before the Royal Society soiree last Wednesday night]

Last week, my London days were largely spent at the Royal Society Summer Science exhibition doing public outreach about the Rosetta mission's discoveries at Comet 67P. I did five four-hour shifts in 2.5 days, which is about the limit a person should do when talking pretty much non-stop. I completely lost my voice after my last shift.

It was great fun, though! I was one of the stand organisers (coordinated the rota & polo shirt printing). The glorious backdrop in the photo above is an image from the OSIRIS camera on board Rosetta. The little stand next to me contains a number of 3D-printed famously rubber-duck-shaped Comet 67P nuclei as well as some of our smell-o-vision postcards. More on those below the cut.

( More photos from the stand; pls note that most of these were not taken by me )

with a hint of dylan moran - monster
Crossposts: http://nanila.livejournal.com/1064721.html

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For teasery spoilers on why I'm asking this question, look at the tags on this entry. :)

Poll #17261 Freebies

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 52

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When you go to an exhibition or convention where people are handing out (branded) freebies, which of these are your favourites?

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Pens
32 (64.0%)

Pencils
11 (22.0%)

Keyrings
10 (20.0%)

Fridge magnets
18 (36.0%)

Stress balls
17 (34.0%)

Bouncy balls
11 (22.0%)

Bookmarks
12 (24.0%)

Stickers
18 (36.0%)

Something else I didn't list:

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[Image from the Royal Society's Facebook page of me at the exhibit. The comet nucleus model with pockets containing molecular models is in front of me. The lander model is just visible in the middle in the background. I look knackered. This is because when this photo was taken, I had just begun my fourth 4-hour shift on the stand in three days, after handling delivery and supervising setup the previous weekend.]

I'm still recovering from the exhibition despite finishing my last shift on the stand at mid-afternoon on Thursday. The exhibit finished on Sunday at 1800, after which it was packed down and shipped back to the Open University in Milton Keynes.

StarkeyStardust and I almost single-handedly designed the stand, commissioned the interactive elements of the exhibit, weaseled the giveaways from ESA (thanks to Project Scientist

mggttaylor), rounded up volunteers, organised the rota and arranged for delivery, setup and breakdown of the exhibit. Our nominal superiors got us the funding (which was helpful and not to be sneezed at). But most of the last five months' worth of work has been done exclusively by the two of us, in addition to our usual full-time jobs.

I learned some things about myself over the course of the organisation, which I felt the need to record.

I'm not a natural media person. I can come across okay if I make an effort, but I don't enjoy it the way StarkeyStardust does. She is a natural, relaxed and effective communicator. Granted, she's had more media training than I have, but she also has a talent for it that I don't. She took on nearly all the press obligations during the exhibition. Beforehand, I thought I might have wanted to share the limelight, but as it turns out, I much prefer being a power behind the throne, as it were, rather than sitting on it myself. In Yes Minister terms, I'm probably a bit of a Bernard at the moment, with aspirations to become a Dorothy.
The more volunteers, the better. We were told we would need at least four people on the stand at all times. I did most of the organisation of the rota which is a much more time-consuming task than most people estimate. I knew from previous experience (I've either helped design or volunteered at the RSSE since 2011) that ideally we would have at least six people on the stand at all times, but I should have recruited harder as there were times when we had only four scheduled and that really is the bare minimum. Especially when someone drops out, as a few people nearly always do. In the end we had 42 volunteers, five of whom had to drop their sessions. Also, I should not have put StarkeyStardust officially on the stand as much as she wanted me to. Four sessions over the course of the week really should be the maximum amount anyone does. Everyone underestimates how draining it is being on your feet talking and being enthusiastic for four hours straight.

The exhibition keeps running for longer every year as well (it used to open on a Monday and close on a Thursday). If I were to do it again, I would ensure I had at least 50 volunteers and that none of them were officially scheduled for more than four sessions. As it was I was worried because we had a few that I never even met because they didn't come to the dry run and they were scheduled at the weekend when I wasn't there. I know now that as long as they confirm they're coming, it isn't a problem.
Do not try to stuff too many things into the exhibit space. I knew this one already which is why we only had two interactives, and was worried about how huge the lander model is. Its footprint is 1.5 metres by 1.5 metres and our space was 4 metres by 2 metres. Funnily enough this wasn't our biggest problem; it was the bases for the backdrop, which we hadn't realised were stupidly bulky, totalled 5 metres in length and were mostly useless. We ended up having to get rid of half of the backdrop in order to fit everything in and make it look decent.
Small items that are part of the interactives will get nicked no matter how vigilant you think you're being. A few of our molecular models went walkabout, and our "comet without nucleus" magnet and replacement "comet without nucleus" magnet (a London bus fridge magnet with a cartoon drawing stuck to it, see here, were both spirited away.
Be prepared for people to drop out of the soirees. This, I admit, was something we didn't anticipate. Most people love going to the Royal Society soirees and will angle for an invite. Both people who dropped out of the soirees (one each on Wednesday and Thursday night) did so on very short notice - mid-day on the day of the soiree. We managed to scare up replacements, but I think next time it would be clever to ask a postgrad volunteer who has put in a lot of sessions to be a backup attendee for an "important" guest at each of the soirees. They were the ones who ended up getting the places anyway, and they deserved them.
Chase up the university press office for publicity. Both Imperial and the OU let us down a bit on that front, I have to admit. We got a bit of coverage, but not really enough before the actual event to build interest.
Focus on only one social media outlet, or recruit volunteers to generate content. We tried to run a Tumblr and a Twitter just between the two of us before the exhibition. That was a mistake - we just about managed the Twitter account but couldn't keep up the Tumblr. Then, during the Twitter Q&A the week before the exhibition, we gave the Twitter account password to a few more people and suddenly it became way, way easier to maintain. I know this is a basic lesson of social media networking, but I've never really tried to do it myself as my accounts have always been exclusively personal.

And finally...
Don't get pregnant during the run-up to the exhibition. Fighting nausea whilst trying to work an extra two hours every day after your normal work is done and you've put the baby to bed and all you want to do is go to sleep? Yeah, that sucks.

To make myself feel better, here are the things I think we did well.

Communicate regularly but not overwhelmingly with our volunteers. We tried to put a good deal of useful information into our group e-mails and send them sparingly. Also, we thanked them promptly after the exhibition even though none of us even wanted to think about it on Monday, which I think was good form.
Pay people to do the stand design properly. Neither of us had the time or the necessary expertise to do it ourselves. It was much better to commission artists to make the comet nucleus model and the mechanical workshop at Imperial to make the Pin the Tail on the Comet interactive.
Don't reinvent the wheel. For instance, I knew that purplecthulhu had helped design the Herschel and Planck stands at previous RSSEs, and so I asked him where to get shirts printed and for permission to reuse their rota spreadsheet. He provided these and many more helpful tips. (He definitely earned his soiree place!) Natalie knew that the backdrop for the Stardust exhibit some years ago had been stored at the OU, so she tracked that down and had the same person who did the design for the posters reuse his template for the Catch A Comet exhibit.
Communicate enthusiastically and effectively with the public about SCIENCE. This is the whole point of the exhibition, and I think we managed it well in the end.

the weather today is reflective
Crossposts: http://nanila.livejournal.com/961877.html

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Just returning to Brum after a hectic morning/early afternoon directing the setup of the Rosetta exhibit at the Royal Society.

I will be on the stand at Carlton Terrace at the following times:

Wednesday 2 July 10:00 to 13:30
Thursday 3 July 10:00 to 13:30

I'll also be there Monday morning and Wednesday evening for the soiree, but as those aren't open to the public, they're only relevant to a few people on DW/LJ.

The exhibition is open from Tuesday 1 July until Sunday 6 July, including evenings on Monday (adults only), Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. There are 20+ interactive exhibits about SCIENCE, so even if I'm not on the Rosetta stand you should come and have a look!

( More photos from setup )

Crossposts: http://nanila.livejournal.com/960322.html

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On the Herschel stand at the Royal Society, you can get your photo taken with an infrared (IR) camera and printed out. You can also use ice to cool your skin for a more interesting portrait. Here I am in the IR, with ice-stripes on my eyebrows and nose. My mouth may also have been smeared with ice. Or it could have been the blood of my enemies. MUAHAHAhahem.

Poll #11055 Camping With Passenger

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 23

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Going camping for a week in Scotland in the Outer Hebrides while 5.5 months pregnant is

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mad
8 (34.8%)

quite mad
6 (26.1%)

er, why did you let the bloke talk you out of the week on a beach in Spain?
22 (95.7%)

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Also, Happy Revolting Colonial Day!

Around these parts, though, we're mostly celebrating Particle Announcement Day at CERN.

Londoners: The Royal Society Summer Exhibition is on again this week. I'll be there this afternoon (1330 to 1700, when it closes to the public) along with

purplecthulhu and tomorrow morning (Thursday, 1000 to 1330) on the Herschel stand. I realise this is work-time for most of you, but the exhibition is open late to the public on Friday and also at the weekend. Come on down to Carlton House Terrace and see the new and exciting things going on in science!

ETA: We're watching the CERN webcast in the lab. It is hilarious watching the dance between the press and the scientists. The press are practically begging for them to say without qualification that this is the Higgs boson. The scientists are steadfastly refusing.

Now that I've been watching for half an hour, I can sum up the interaction thusly.

Press: "Please, please say this is the Higgs. PLEASE."
Scientists: "Here is a technical explanation of the reason why we refuse to define this particle as the standard-model Higgs."
Press: "OK, if you won't do that, will you at least help us with our headlines by saying something about dark matter?"
Scientists: "....No."
repeat ad infinitum

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Imperial crew at the Royal Society soiree

(from left to right: D who just submitted his PhD thesis,

nanila, J who is an STFC Advanced Fellow. D doesn't really have booms sticking out the sides of his head normally. There's a model spacecraft right behind him at exactly the wrong (right?) height.)

Thank you to

djm4,

sfred,

iridescent (+1) and

dizzykj (+1), all of whom came to the Summer Science Exhibition at the Royal Society! It was a delight to see you. Apologies to those whom I missed but from the sounds of it, you still had a great time, as did I.

The estimated attendance was 12000 visitors, double the expected number. On my Sunday shift, I don't think I stopped talking for more than five minutes and that was when I went to dig out more freebies from behind the stand. Speaking of which, I have a pile of fridge magnets with pretty pictures of the Northern Lights to give away. If you want one (or two. Or three. Really, I have lots), leave a screened comment with an address (unless you think I have it already) and I'll pop them in the post.

Here's a video about the Aurora Explorer stand, narrated by Martin Archer (one of our postgrads). This was filmed at the press event on Monday, which wasn't open to the public. You can see me in the background and our matching luminous blue polo shirts. Aw.

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Lords and ladies and champagne galore at the Royal Society soiree last night.

Tonight, the Harry Potter 7 Part 2 premiere, followed by the afterparty. (It's just too bad I can't spot celebrities to save my life.)

I feel like I should be dismissing the servants who've just brought me lunch with a languid wave of the cigarette holder in my bejeweled fingers, but instead I'm putting on a luminous blue polo shirt and heading off to be enthusiastic about science for four hours.

Perhaps not so glamourous after all.

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The Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition opened to the public yesterday! It's on at the Royal Society, 6-9 Carlton Terrace (just off The Mall) through Sunday 10 July. There are 22 exhibits from physics, chemistry, biology, maths, engineering and medicine. Loads of fun interactives, piles of free stuff and many eager energetic scientists to tell you about their work in memorable, bite-size chunks. Please do drop by if you have the time and are geographically compatible.

I'm on the Aurora Explorer stand tomorrow (Thursday 7 July) from 13:30 to 17:00, but will have to depart promptly to go to the Harry Potter premiere. I'm also there on Sunday 10 July from 14:30 to 18:00, when the exhibition closes. Tip: exhibitors will be looking to offload remaining freebies on Sunday, so if you want toys/magnets/keyrings/postcards/other swag, Sunday afternoon is the time to go.

The baby spacecraft I painted are currently having their 5 seconds of fame on the BBC web site here at 02:44, and you can explore the exhibits online on the RSSE web site here.

the weather today is for SCIENCE!
with a hint of vince's random pavarotti disease

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Here is what I did on Wednesday.

0600-0645: Wake up in Richmond, roll out of bed, go for 6 km run by the Thames. Marvel nostalgically at its beauty, fitfully wish I still lived in the area.

0645-0830: Invigorating shower. Breakfast. Several cups of herbal tea to rehydrate. Read Edith Wharton for a little while.

0830-1100: Travel from Richmond to Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL), which is part of University College London but is inexplicably located in a converted mansion in a field in deepest darkest Surrey, between Guildford and Dorking. Several trains are involved, none of which are on time.

1100-1200: Listen to lecture about 10 years of science discovery by the multi-spacecraft Cluster mission. (I have had a hand in calibrating magnetometer data from eight of those 10 years.)

1200-1230: Lunch, catch up with other operations folks I haven't seen before.

1230-1300: Set up my interactive for the dry run of the Royal Society Summer Exhibition stand about Cluster, the "Aurora Explorer". Gentle retired folks from the University of the Third Age (U3A) arrive to hear outreach talks on space science. Gentle retired folks mistakenly assume that tea and cakes being laid out on the buffet tables are for them.

1300-1400: Dry run with the other exhibitors. Return to the room for our meeting, discover there is no tea or cake. A second round of tea and cakes is ordered.

1400-1500: Logistics meeting about the exhibition. On departing from the meeting, discover there is no tea or cake left. Conclude that retired people survive on diet consisting entirely of stolen tea and cake. Shake our heads at appalling standard of care for the elderly. A third round of tea and cakes is ordered.

1500-1645: Dry run of the exhibition for the U3A visitors. Strive womanfully not to resent their having eaten all the cakes.

1645-1730: Debrief/postmortem meeting. Discover scraps of cake and tea are still left from third round. Rejoice. Consume.

1730-2100: Travel from MSSL back to Cambridge. Receive phone call from drunky bloke during the journey, who entreats me to come out and join the other drunky chemists after I've got home.

2100-2130: Arrive home, pet cats, change dress, freshen up, drink large glass of bourbon, phone for taxi.

2145: Join drunky bloke at restaurant where chemists are finishing their meal.

2215: Move to pub, drink rum.

2300: Pub shuts. Move to bar. Continue drinking rum.

0000: Sudden simultaneous need to dance strikes entire group. Move to club, The Kambar, which is playing eighties music. Shake booty for a couple of hours.

0230: Mindful of impending bodily collapse, go home.

0300: Bed.

This morning, I showered, dressed, stumbled to the station, got on the train, removed my coat and sniffed the air, thinking, "Damn, it's 8 AM. Why does my train smell of beer? It's a bit early!"

At Kings Cross, I got on the Piccadilly line and sniffed the air, thinking, "Damn, the Tube smells like beer, too! What's going on?"

At Gloucester Road, I disembarked from the Tube and stepped out into the station. As I donned my coat, I thought, "Damn, even the station smells like beer...wait..."

My coat is in the washing machine.

ETA: For those unfamiliar with English geography, here is a Google maps plot of my journey. Total distance: 140 miles. Key: A=Richmond, B=Clapham Junction station, C=MSSL, D=Victoria station, E=Kings Cross station, F=Cambridge.

the weather today is horizontal
with a hint of four tet - she moves she

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Sauntering Vaguely Downward

Into the land of lowered expectations

Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition 2016: A Comet Revealed roundup

Friday's Unscientific Poll: Freebies

Lessons learned from "Catch A Comet" at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition

[Attn: Londoners] The Rosetta exhibit at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition is GO.

Infrared Self Portrait

Happy Higgs-like Day!

Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition: wrap-up

O, my glamourous life!

Summer science exhibition on now

Surely I'm getting too old for these sorts of shenanigans

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