Science Uncovered Manchester – European Researchers Night at Manchester Museum – Friday 30 September 2016, 5pm-10pm
What is it?
Friday 30 September is European Researcher’s night and for the second time Manchester Museum will be hosting Science Uncovered Manchester – a spectacular night showcasing Manchester’s finest researchers and their work for an adult audience. There’ll be research on show, music, drinks and a lively atmosphere. Our participation in Science Uncovered event is funded by the Natural History Museum, who’ve hosted this event successfully for several years in London and Tring. European Researcher’s Night is a Europe wide initiative, in which thousands of researchers all across Europe meet the public and share their work in a social setting.
European Researcher Night (Showcase film)
https://vimeo.com/146240600
Get Involved
We want 50 researchers to join us at the Museum to share research with our curious adult audience. We want to showcase the fantastic wide array of research being undertaken here in Manchester. We would love to get objects out on the night so please do let us know if your research connects to our collection, you may also be given preference regarding space and location. So if you’ve got something interesting to share do get in touch?
There are a number of ways of participating:
1) Research Stations – Show us your best work with interactive table top activities to get a conversation started. The focus of our research stations is to get chatting to the public – so leave the poster boards behind and bring your best conversation starters (objects, equipment and demonstrations). The smallest practical station would be two researchers at a time and researchers would need to work in rotation for the duration that a station is running (5pm-10pm). As the Museum has an established A-Level audience, we are encouraging A Level students to attend research stations at 5-6pm. A chance to inspire the researchers of the future – so prepare to be quizzed on how you found your way into research.
2) Lightning talks – got something interesting to say in 3 minutes? You can hop on our soapbox and give us an entertaining 3 minute insight into your work.
3) Science bar – choose some fun topics or burning questions and we’ll pop them on our Science bar conversation menu. We’ll find the audience for you to have a fun informal chat about your work whilst visitors buy and enjoy a drink from our bar.
4) Storytelling – Storytelling has become a popular activity and with researchers spending time in the field, at sea or in other unusual circumstances has the potential to captivate otherwise “science reluctant” audiences with compelling stories. Tell a 15 minute story based around your experiences as a researcher. Short training exercises are available to help you prepare.
5) I Love Research School Q&A – As a lead up to the After-hours event, during the daytime we are offering individual researchers a chance to talk to school groups visiting the Museum about why they love research. This is a great opportunity for school children of all ages to interact with you as an active researcher and ask you questions about your knowledge, experiences and advice to help inspire the next generation of researchers. Sign up to a timeslot to talk to a range of pupils on our galleries about why you love research.
We are open to you trying your hand at any of our activities but bear in mind, if you are on a research station, you’ll need to find a colleague to keep the conversation flowing while you’re away.
Is it for you?
Science Uncovered Manchester is open to a wide array of researchers including:
- Research leaders
- Research groups
- Postgraduate students
- Early career researchers
What do you get from it?
You get a fun night of conversations around your research. We will evaluate the event and include questions around the impact of research for you to use to evidence your public engagement activities. We are hoping to get a significant audience so you could reach lots of curious adults.
Last year’s event was a great success and we received great feedback:
“The amount of passion researchers have for their field”
“Keen young people who love science”
“The lightning talks were ace but the infectious enthusiasm of the scientists was the best”
Thinking of applying?
Fill out our Science Uncovered Manchester application form by 18 July 2016.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1GhMiJRgVHODxzbNvh2wT-4aNOW7QBbJmWzymjoeQVSU
It’s not too long, but it really helps us get a feel for what you might be interested in.
Got a question?
Contact Anna Bunney, anna.bunney@manchester.ac.uk 0161 306 1581 (x61581)
