by Lara Tina Dias
To invest in relational infrastructure is to invest in transformation, both in the world around us and in ourselves. – David Jay
Education is a means of transforming both the self and the world surrounding us. If one of the core tenets of a university is education, then we only stand to gain by facilitating the exchange of knowledge. It is a self preservational requirement that every participant of an institution must take responsibility for. In support of this endeavour, the Department of Research and Innovation Services (RIS) at St Andrews held the Mind and Matter Science Festival, on the 27th of October 2024, with the aim of “encouraging exploration and engagement with research and higher education across all disciplines, from STEM to the Arts, Humanities, Divinity and Social Sciences”.
The invitation was open to families, working age adults, secondary school students, teachers and parents from communities across Fife and the Greater Tayside area. The event was financially supported by the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement and the Wellcome Trust. Sixty one stations were setup throughout the ground floors of the Medicine and Physics buildings, presenting activities ranging from making dragons, DNA origami, building skeletons, science magic shows, lab tours and an inflatable planetarium. Activities and events were hosted by several researchers at the university (professors, students, postdocs) and museums. The event was supported by the efforts of a large team of student volunteers assigned to several stations, information points and receptions, handling the onsite practicalities of the event which included welcoming guests and gathering feedback.
Prior to the event Dr Sandra Appleby-Arnold, Head of Engagement with Research, hosted a webinar to prepare volunteers. She stressed the importance of mutual benefit in encouraging an exchange of knowledge. The goal was to not only tell people what we were doing but to bring about active change in how people think- to engage curiosity in the audience and inspire potential scientists. Volunteers were encouraged to find overlap between what is important to us and the audience and to adapt language to suit the various knowledge backgrounds encountered. As such the event acted as a social container for facilitating relationships between and within the community at the university and the people of Fife and Greater Tayside.
PANDA magazine reached out to Dr Sandra for her personal thoughts on the Mind and Matter Science festival:
How were your experiences with guests, staff and volunteers? Are there any moments that stand out to you?
Frankly, I had expected the day to start slowly, but on from the minute doors were open to the public it felt like families had literally been waiting to show up. Early on, there was a continuous buzz, and at peak times we had more than 1,500 visitors in both buildings. We did visitor counts at regular intervals, and altogether the estimated total visitor number has been 2,500+, which by far exceeded our expectations. For me personally, it was a particular pleasure to see visitors of all ages to enjoy the activities, from 3-year-olds chasing clues for the treasure hunt to 80+ year olds engaging in discussions with academics about their research.
From staff feedback, I particularly enjoyed those comments which described how much they appreciated not only the engagement with visitors but also the opportunity to learn themselves and connect with colleagues from other disciplines, forging new networks between different schools and departments.
Another somewhat unexpected side effect, was also the very positive feedback I received in the days after the event from Professional Services colleagues. Whereas I myself, given the nature of my role, am in regular contact with academics, many Professional Services staff aren’t, and they explained to me how much they enjoyed seeing, and thus feeling part of, what our researchers in St Andrews achieve.
Finally, the one moment I won’t forget was when, early before doors opened, all volunteers joined up to receive their briefing from my colleague Katherine. We both had been a bit nervous how many would really show up on the day, and we were overwhelmed by that “sea” of volunteers in turquoise and pink Mind and Matter T-shirts joining forces.
What were the most challenging aspects of organizing the event? What motivates you to make this possible?
Possibly the most challenging aspect, apart from the issue of securing funding, has been to allow academics as much time as possible to decide on their contribution, develop their activity and provide a description, whilst keeping enough time along the line to ensure that all logistics are in place and still have enough time for marketing and advertising the event.
In particular, the latter needs to start early on but requires content, as without content, i.e., an attractive/informative website and brochures/flyers, we cannot go out to schools, cultural partners, city councils and the media. I think we found a good balance, with almost two thirds of visitors coming from postcode areas outside St Andrews and as far afield as Edinburgh and Perth.
Finally, what motivates me most is that events like this are essential for our feeling of community, which I understand as a community of researchers, students, professional services, being embedded in, and connected with, the wider community of people living in Fife and the Greater Tayside area.
PANDA magazine also reached out to Dr Pia Cortes Zuleta, a research fellow studying extrasolar planetary science who was part of the Inflatable Planetarium team. She was happy that “people are always very interested in learning about astronomy” – “I think it’s very important to show that researchers are normal people and that we’re not locked in a laboratory all day.” She also stressed the importance of children experiencing diversity so that every child “can see themselves as a future scientist.”
As someone who was on site as a volunteer and receptionist on 27th October, I can personally attest the network of students, researchers, staff, and residents of Fife and Tayside both young and old that made this event possible. There is an immediate joy in seeing a child light up with curiosity and it reminds me of why I joined my field of study. Watching my fellow volunteers, the majority of whom were women, coordinate and solve problems in real time is the most connected I have felt to the broader community at the university.
We are each limited by the perspective and circumstance of our own life. Building connections between diverse people, who would otherwise have limited contact with each other, expands our collective capacities to see the world in ways that would otherwise be inaccessible to us. These events function as containers to facilitate such interaction. The many aspects of creativity required for interaction at every level of such an event can only be learnt through practice.
The rewards of these connections forged between people are long-term and the efforts to create environments for them often go underappreciated but a lack of such connection is always felt deeply throughout an institution even if we struggle to articulate it. This is the part of communal knowledge at the university that can only be passed down and developed through creating environments to practice these skills, allowing time for participation and investing resources into these events. This is the first step in bridging socio-economic, generational, cultural and other divides in the accessibility of education.
Additional reading
This is for those who wish to learn about education and community building. This article was informed through the lens of knowledge provided in these books.
Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Penguin Classics, 2017
Jay, David. Relationality. North Atlantic Books, 2024
All images sourced via RIS
