Impact case study database

Exploring Light and Dark

The collaboration between the University of Central Lancashire and the Beacon Museum, Whitehaven, Cumbria entitled Exploring Light and Dark, was the first science exhibition held at the museum and attracted over 2,500 visitors over four weeks. Arising from a GBP9,805 Science and Technology Facilities Council Spark Award, the collaboration piloted three artistic strands by;

• creating a new large-scale science/art installation work;

• exploring astronomical heritage by the way of local cultural storytelling and,

• advancing astronomy education through movement and dance.

This partnership held further significance in a region with observable inequalities; local science and technology industries introduce a transient population of highly skilled workers that results in these jobs not being seen as attainable for many young people in the area itself. At a time of increased funding pressures on cultural institutions such as the Beacon Museum, Alan Gillon, the Beacon’s Learning and Public Engagement Manager commented that Exploring Light and Dark was “…a unique exhibition and we are finding that audience engagement is proving to be very strong.” [A1]. The exhibition contributed to local cultural preservation and interpretation through attracting new audiences to the museum and enhancing the museum offer. One school pupil summed up the engagement: “No one told me before that science could be taught like this! Science is interesting… I didn’t know.” [A2]

From the Earth to the Sun This three-metre high astronomy/art installation piece consisted of a semi-circular rear projected installation of NASA Solar Dynamic Observatory Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (SDO AIA) EUV movies of the Sun with an Inca-inspired soundtrack in a completely blacked-out environment. The piece generated a new way of thinking about our closest star and stimulated interest in solar research from both the general public and school groups. One teacher commented: “[The children] were absolutely fascinated by the Sun and the fact it was moving and almost seemed like a living thing. I think anything like that, that can inspire them, is worthwhile.” [A2] It should be noted that the installation was subsequently exhibited in Preston, as part of the Lancashire Encounter Festival in 2016, and then at the John Mackintosh Cultural Centre, Gibraltar in 2018, where it was also the focus of an episode of ‘Rock Explorers’, a popular natural science programme broadcast by the Gibraltar Broadcasting Company [B].

Astronomical heritage and story-telling: The use of a storyteller (Steve Warton) was also explored to link the local heritage of stone circles prevalent in Cumbria with astronomy. This approach enhanced not just the listener’s understanding of astronomical topics (e.g. the movement of the stars) but also of local myths and legends that were part of their own cultural tradition. Warton commented: “When you can hang concepts and ideas on a person's story, many people can engage. It also allowed the children to relax and have fun and made them more open… on the way out, they're asking different questions … particularly about the characters and why did they do things? So, they were starting to develop their own inquiries.”[A1]

Astronomy and Dance: Learning about science at school is often portrayed as a boring and stultifying encounter, passively listening to teachers explaining complex subjects. By introducing astronomy with dance, JHI researchers have transformed the approach into a vibrant, dynamic and interactive experience. Linking the behaviour of celestial objects to movement broke down gender barriers to both the understanding of the science as well as the arts. The dance workshops, attended by nearly 400 primary school students, showed a positive impact on perceptions of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) from female students. When asked about the impact of the workshops on the girls in their class, one teacher responded: “…the [dance] workshop was a very good way to encourage and promote an interest in STEM subjects.” [A2] Additionally, one teacher noted the positive impact that the workshops had had on boys in their class: “For the boys especially, the superb science content detracted from the ‘dance’ aspect which meant they were fully engaged in the sessions.” [A2] This also encouraged teachers to change their teaching methods in other subjects: “We could use dance to explore other areas of science for example solids, liquids and gases, the digestive system, evolution.” [A2]

Sun, Moon and Sky

The success of the exhibition outlined above led to further exploration of engaging astronomy and astrophysics through art. In 2019 Walsh collaborated with artist Alex Rinsler to create the touring art installation SUN. Also in 2019 Argo collaborated with storyteller Cassandra Wye to deliver the We share the same moon project as part of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) 100 Special Projects. In 2020 Pledger and dancer Lucy Starkey developed Into Our Skies, an online dance workshop targeted at primary school pupils. Outlined in the following, to date, these projects have successfully obtained competitive peer-reviewed funding of over GBP215,000 from STFC, Arts Council England, the Royal Astronomical Society and the International Astronomical Union.

SUN Walsh, Rinsler, and digital animators Pufferfish UK created SUN [D], a seven-metre diameter sphere suspended four metres above the ground into which is projected a digitally combined movie of the NASA’s SDO AIA EUV images, stitched together to form a full 360-degree presentation. Ten weeks in the life of the Sun over five different EUV wavelengths are presented in a twelve-minute spectacle with additional smoke special effects flowing over the sphere to represent the outer solar corona. SUN is experienced as a constantly changing, dynamic piece of art/science engagement that transforms the viewer’s perception of our closest star. As outlined by Rinsler [C2], this collaboration generated for him a new way of approaching his creative practice, retaining the integrity of the raw observational data but portraying the resulting imagery in a way to best recreate the size and scale of the Sun. Specifically, Rinsler states: “It is hard to understate the impact of Prof Walsh’s contribution to SUN: quantitatively in terms of the instances of engagement for festival audiences (predominantly local families) in high quality research, but qualitatively, insofar as SUN can be enjoyed as a festival attraction, critiqued as a contemporary artwork, and discussed as a tool for public engagement in science…Working with Prof Walsh has opened up new avenues for me as an artist. …The wonders of the sky and stars opens up an entirely new field of imagination.” [C2]

The SUN installation premiered in October 2019 at the Lightpool festival which runs in conjunction with the Blackpool Illuminations. These form key parts of the local tourism economy, attracting visitors from across the North West to the town after the traditional summer tourist season has ended. SUN at Lightpool was supported by (i) JHI astronomers on-site each evening to converse directly with SUN visitors; (ii) a focused primary school engagement programme in collaboration with another STFC project – the SunSpaceArt project with support from artist, Helen Schell; and (iii) a series of evening public lectures [C1]. SUN was the first educational and public engagement of this type in the 140 years history of the Illuminations and the most popular Lightpool installation, attracting over 8,500 visitors from across the North West. Coverage of the SUN and Lightpool festival on Granada Reports raised awareness locally of the festival with Creative Director, Phil Holmes noting that the reporting gave a “…huge promotion not only to the SUN, but the wider festival, something I am not sure we would have received had it not been for the ‘Wow factor of SUN.” [C1] SUN was then exhibited in November 2019 at the Light Up Lancaster Festival, attracting a further 2,000 attendees. The success of the SUN has also influenced festival organisers working practices going forward, seeking installations that can be developed to include additional engagement opportunities and enhance the visitor experience further [C1].

Festival attendees were also able to see the process behind the installation on a dedicated webpage. This provided insights into the science behind the images and the work involved in turning that complex information into an amazing art installation [G].

In December 2020, STFC formally acknowledged SUN as one of only two nationally strategic engagement projects for the research council, providing funding of GBP85,000 for a two-year programme. SUN will tour a number of sites and festivals during 2021-2022 [F, I].

We Share the Same Moon

This activity was one of just 22 worldwide International Astronomical Union (IAU) 100^th Anniversary Special Projects [E1]. We Share the Same Moon used storytelling narratives of folktales, myths and legends linked to the Sun, Moon and stars to introduce astrophysical concepts. Stories have an amazing power to captivate children and inspire them to be curious, wanting to learn more. By capturing their attention and interest with stories, the project then moved on to explore and explain the science behind them. The project developed, tested and evaluated twenty educational curriculum-linked resources linking stories and astronomy, delivered a series of pilot workshops in schools and informal settings around the UK, and produced a publicly available website of fully-accessible educational resources [E1]. The science activities covered aspects of the primary science curriculum such as Earth, Space and Forces, as well as linking with several other aspects across the wider curriculum base. Over 1,800 people attended events linked to the project and the project website received over 17,000 visitors with online resources being downloaded more than 2,000 times [E2].

Into the Skies

Following the success of the dance workshops held during the Exploring Light and Dark exhibition, Pledger and Starkey collaborated to create the Into Our Skies project. Although originally planned as a series of face-to-face dance workshops, due to the COVID-19 restrictions these activities were repurposed to be online interactive workshop videos. Each workshop begins with Pledger introducing the astronomy topic, an important link to connect with a real scientist. Against a starry backdrop and to a specially composed soundtrack, Starkey leads participants through movements and dance-related activities that delve into that particular astronomy theme.

The Into our Skies project produced three, high quality interactive workshop videos and several hands-on classroom investigations designed to allow pupils to explore space science in this unique and creative way. By moving and physicalising scientific concepts, participants use active learning to explore new astronomy ideas. Ruth Spencer, University of Central Lancashire course leader in dance and performance has also designed a set of teaching notes to help primary teachers facilitate the sessions as many may not have any dance experience. This creative learning environment allows teachers to play, pause and rewind the session, providing time for pupils’ own creativity and to work at their own pace. The resources have been downloaded more than 200 times by educators across the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands and 33 educators attended CPD training to aid delivery of the sessions. Teachers using the resources reported greater levels of participation and understanding of both science and dance, praising the cross disciplinary nature of the material: “…a great resource to bring science and dance together and to make science knowledge memorable and more real for the children.” [F]

Starkey commented that Into our Skies “…exceeded my expectations, we reached a larger audience than I anticipated.” The project also provided professional development for Starkey, being the first pre-recorded collaborative educational resource she had produced and “…a fantastic artistic challenge” [C3].