A GALACTIC GET-TOGETHER AND A SUMMIT OF SCIENCE CENTRES

As Edinburgh’s Science Centre and Planetarium, we are very lucky to be a part of several different networks of science communication experts from around the country. On a misty weekend in September, 70 planetarium enthusiasts – who call themselves “Planetarians” – descended on Dynamic Earth for the annual conference of the British Association of Planetaria (BAP). Not only that, but staff from Dynamic Earth also popped down to London to take part in the Association for Science and Discovery Centres (ASDC) conference along with 200 other science centre representatives from across the UK!

We were thrilled to welcome people from the length and breadth of the UK, from our Edinburgh neighbours at Cosmos Planetarium, right across the sea to last year’s hosts, Armagh Observatory and Planetarium.

Planetarians from across the UK descended on Dynamic Earth, hosted by our own planetarium team, Alastair, Toni and James. Photo credit: Andrzej Majdanik.

Our dome showed a whole host of shows from planetaria across the country. Photo credit: Andrzej Majdanik.

The conference opened with a special message from Professor Catherine Heymans, the Astronomer Royal for Scotland and then we delved into all the great things achieved in planetaria since our last meeting. We heard of the trials and tribulations of building and opening a brand-new planetarium, the strangeness of creating a Christmas show in mid-June and how people have been making their planetaria more welcoming and accessible to all. Across the whole weekend, it was a joy to see the creativity and enthusiasm in this community.

Amidst the chaos of the conference, we found time to show off the city too. Andy Lawrence and Karen Moran at the Royal Observatory of Edinburgh led a guided tour of Blackford and Calton Hill and opened the Crawford collection containing first editions of Newton’s Principia Mathematica. Holyrood Distillery delivered a magical whisky tasting under Gaia and our neighbours, The Pakora Bar, hosted us for the post-conference meal.

To round off the conference, BAP Honorary President, professor of Astrophysics and presenter of the BBC’s Sky At Night, Chris Lintott reminded us of the power of a planetarium and left us feeling inspired and energised for the year to come. But before people went back home to their domes, there was still time for the hotly-contested BAP quiz where huge congratulations must go to Nina and Ben who have been on the winning team two years in a row!

We’re already looking forward to next year which will be hosted down the road at Newcastle’s Centre for Life.

We didn’t just stick to the planetarium – attendees got the chance to explore the galleries and of course our world-famous iceberg! Photo credit: Andrzej Majdanik.

This year’s ASDC conference was held at the Royal Society down in London, with almost 90% of science and discovery centres from the breadth of the UK in attendance. It has been almost 40 years since the Royal Society released their report “The Public Understanding of Science” – back when the concept of a science centre was new, and informal science activities were generally limited to libraries and museums. Fittingly, the theme of this year’s conference was “Shaping the future of science together” so it was the perfect opportunity for a room full of informal science experts to reflect on what we’ve achieved, and what we need to do next.

Science Learning and Engagement Director, Conor Ellis, caught up with colleagues across the ASDC, UK Research and Innovation and Museums Association networks about community project Mindsets + Missions.
Photo credit: Association for Science and Discovery Centres

Dynamic Earth was involved in several different sessions across the conference, including a UK Space Agency engagement showcase, in which we shared Earth observation activities that we delivered as part of our Our World from Space programme; and a session with colleagues from Digital Skills Education all about how difficult (or easy!) it is to tell if something has been created by a human or by generative AI. Mark Bishop, CEO, also introduced a keynote by the University of Bath’s Caroline Hickman about the climate anxiety faced by young people, with two young activists, Hemlata Pant and Maithili Pittea, discussing their experiences growing up in the age of a climate crisis.

Space science, the emergence of AI and the impacts of the climate crisis were just three of the topics we grappled with alongside our peers. We also explored the opportunities for new approaches to meaningful engagement with communities, how to establish more sustainable practices in shops and cafés, and new ways we can work with researchers to involve members of the public with their work.

Conor and Chris, Head of Learning and Engagement, shared the work done at Dynamic Earth as part of Our World from Space, made possible with support from the UK Space Agency. Photo credit: Association for Science and Discovery Centres

Colleagues from organisations including the National Space Centre in Leicester got stuck into activities from the Our World From Space programme. Photo credit: Association for Science and Discovery Centres

Hopefully in future we’ll be able to continue engaging you in new and exciting ways, and identify how we can work with the other science and discovery centres across the country to explore new topics and challenges that are relevant to you.

If you’d like to learn more about ASDC and their work, you can visit their website. We’re looking forward to joining our ASDC colleagues next year at the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford!