The Oregon Hearing Research Center decided to do an "experiment" in science outreach education. The hearing scientists attending the meeting were invited to an evening event at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland. High school students from regional science interest program were also invited and shared the audience with the scientists.
The purpose of the evening was to create one experience targeting both the scientists and the students. We hoped that the students would get excited about hearing science and that the scientists would get excited about communicating their spectacular research to students in simple but effective ways.
The evening had three parts. First, Dr. Jim Hudspeth gave a presentation "The ear's gears: Molecular machines that help hearing happen", a complex topic that was presented targeting high school students. In the process, he was modeling for the scientists, ways to use illustrations and demonstrations to make the complex ideas digestible.
Next, Dr. Billy Martin presented a section on noise induced hearing loss and how to avoid it. The audience (scientists and students) were enrolled in activities developed for the Dangerous Decibels® K-12th grade classroom outreach program www.dangerousdecibels.org. Students were informed and entertained while scientists learned about inquiry based teaching methods. Finally, the entire group went to the museum's Dangerous Decibels® exhibition. It is a 1700 ft collection of 12 exhibit activities communicating these educational messages:
What are sources of dangerous sounds?Refreshments were provided and willing scientists wore tags indicating that they were available to talk with students about there work and science careers while they all explored the exhibit.
What are the consequences of dangerous sounds?
What are ways to protect myself from dangerous sounds?
About 150 scientists & students participated. Based on the preliminary results from evaluations that we gathered, we achieved our goals. The kids made good connections with the scientists and had their interests kindled. The scientists, who readily confessed to NOT doing much science outreach, were inspired and expressed the intent of doing it in the future.
Scientists reported that they had been lax in the past because of lack of training, resources, experience, opportunity and time. They appreciated being able to see and do things that were fun and educational. Scientists need to be able to translate their amazing work into presentations and activities that the public can understand and apply to their own lives. We hope that something like this format will become a standard for federally funded scientific meetings.
The presentations by Drs. Hudspeth and Martin can be viewed on streaming video (using RealPlayer®) at: media.ohsu.edu/ramgen/hosp/ent/hearingscience072805.rm.
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