What is science communication? Good question!
Essentially, it’s communicating complex, technical, scientific topics to a wide variety of audiences. This can include scientists, the general public, lawmakers, etc. Science communication can also take many forms. Whether it’s news articles, videos, blog posts, press releases, podcasts, etc., a good science communicator can utilize a variety of mediums.
But what if your primary audience is children? How do you explain something like whale intelligence to a 6-year-old? Let’s find out!
This week, I interviewed Rachel Webber, a science communicator at Washington State University. She is the creative mastermind behind Dr. Universe, a cartoon cat scientist who answers science questions from children all over the world with the help of WSU researchers.
Here are a few examples:
- How do batteries work?
- What do astronauts eat in space?
- Why does music give us chills?
Here’s what Rachel had to say about science communication for children after nearly five years as Dr. Universe.
Q&A
What questions have stuck out over the years?
I like the ones that are kind of obvious, but not that obvious. Like “Why is the ocean salty?” Or “Why does it hurt when you pull a muscle?” You think you know the answer, but you don’t. I think that’s why adults like Dr. Universe, too. It takes us back. It lets us be okay with not knowing something or accepting that science is hard. It’s a chance to learn something new and cool.
What are the challenges of communicating science to children?
Language, definitions, breaking down concepts that you might not need to break down for an adult—like what is a cell or DNA? But I think you should still break down those topics for adult readers, too.
And sometimes it’s a challenge (not in a negative way) working with the scientists. You have to keep asking, “Why, why why” or “Can you clarify that?” And you feel like a dummy. But it’s okay to feel like a dummy so you don’t have to go back and re-interview people. Because they’re busy. So the fact that they stopped and took 30 minutes out of their day to answer a kid’s question is awesome.
What’s the best part of the job?
I wish I could take everyone into the lab or out into the field with me. Because that’s the best part of the job is getting to talk to people and see what they’re doing in person. I think that’s the draw, for me, to science communication. That’s when you start getting kids excited and maybe having an experience that might shape what they want to do later.
And I love that I can write about literally anything and be a storyteller. There are people researching just about everything you can think of. I don’t know everything about one thing, but I do know a little about a lot of things.
What advice do you have for other science communicators?
Write about what you like. Don’t be afraid to ask a million questions or not know something.
I think people stories are a good access point to bigger issues in our world, so look for those. For example, start your story with how that research or science affects an individual. Or use the scientist’s personal story. Because I think a lot of us went into careers because of something that happened to us or a moment we had that shaped where we want to go. Scientists have those stories, too.
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Besides weekly blog posts on the Dr. Universe website, Rachel also partners with Northwest Public Broadcasting to produce videos like this one:
For more information about Dr. Universe, visit askdruniverse.wsu.edu.
What does it take to be a science communicator? Read more.
Meredith Metsker 