Ensonglopedia of the Human project: Tools & Technology / Us & The Universe

The University of Sussex is teaming up with educational musical theatre company Ensonglopedia (a not-for-profit limited company) to deliver part of a larger Arts Council-funded science communication project entitled 'Ensonglopedia of the Human', which will be disseminated to a young audience at KS2/3 in the form of a live show, music videos, school workshops, an album on CD and digital release, and an educational pack. The project explores what it means to be human, from a variety of scientific and philosophical perspectives.

This application focuses on two of the show's 26 educational songs: a song about the evolution of tool design from pre-history to the present day (e.g. particle accelerators & space telescopes), and a song about humankind's relationship with the Universe as a whole. We will be commissioning a music video for both songs, and a documentary 'webisode' featuring these videos as well as additional background science and interviews with experts in the field. The documentary element will showcase the human face behind the science, to inspire its young audience to pursue further study in STEM subjects.

In order to make the videos, we will run a series of workshops at Ditchling Primary School, where we will disseminate the science in the songs to enable the children to create the animation elements for the videos under our guidance, thus stressing the links between the creative arts and the communication and public understanding of science. The funding will also pay for performances of the live show, Ensonglopedia of the Human, at the University of Sussex and at two primary schools in Grimsby. And finally we'll produce a teacher's resource pack with games, exercises and suggestions for further investigation around the themes of the 2 songs.

All content, including song lyrics, will be peer reviewed by a wide range of advisors in different fields, including STFC-funded scientists at the University of Sussex, and scientists at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Ontario, and the University of Lisbon.


The 'Tools & Technology' song, video and teachers' resources will:
- educate its audience, in a light-hearted and entertaining way, on the overarching history of humankind's mastering of technology, including the fashioning of tools from wood, stone, iron and silicon, and the harnessing of fire, electro-magnetism and fundamental particles
- inspire school students to continue their studies in STEM by presenting their classroom topics in an entertaining & engaging way
- supplement the National Curriculum at KS2 and KS3, in particular regarding the uses and functioning of electricity, magnetism, forces, and the use of different materials


The 'Us & the Universe' song, video and teachers' resources will:
- educate and entertain its audience regarding our current understanding of Big Bang cosmology and Standard Model particle physics
- inspire school students to continue their studies in physics & astronomy related studies by presenting their classroom topics in an entertaining & engaging way
- supplement the National Curriculum at KS2 and KS3, in particular regarding the Earth's position and motion through the solar system, and the electromagnetic spectrum


The Ensonglopedia of the Human project as a whole will:
- educate its audience on a wide range of subjects in the human sciences, including anatomy, healthcare, evolution, sociology, neuroscience, the development of agriculture
- stimulate in its audience a respect for science, the planet and their fellow human beings
- inspire young people to pursue careers in physics, biology, medicine, and other STEM areas
- supplement the National Curriculum in science at KS2 and KS3

We break down awareness raising, dissemination and networking into three main routes.

1. Live performances & webisodes
2. Marketing
3. Informing scientists, educators & communicators


1. LIVE PERFORMANCES AND WEBISODES

The two songs made with STFC funding, and their accompanying videos, will reach a public in two main ways:

Firstly, they will feature in live performances of the hour-long science communication show Ensonglopedia of the Human. This show will tour to 10-15 venues in February/March 2021 (there are 8 confirmed bookings to date), and thereafter tour the country in the footsteps of previous Ensonglopedia and Scientrilogy shows (which between them have visited 200 venues to an audience of 50,000+).

Secondly, they will be released online as part of a series of webisodes, and offered for broadcast on local TV networks.


2. MARKETING

Ensonglopedia has five years' experience in marketing science theatre to attract a live audience, borne out by the success of previous shows and online material. The company has a 1000+ strong Mailchimp mailing list, and active Twitter and Facebook feeds. Venues will have their own brochures, mailing lists and social media platforms for publicising performances.

Marketing will also be carried out via the University of Sussex outreach programme in physics and astronomy, which runs over 100 events each year to schools and the general public.

An experienced theatre photographer will take publicity and performance shots, and several project partners are providing in-kind photo shoot locations.

John Hinton has made many appearances on local BBC and community radio stations to talk about (& perform songs from) his science communication projects. Such slots, and appearances on local TV stations, will be actively sought to promote the live show and the online content, providing an extra reach for the science.

We are budgeting £100 specifically to market the videos included in this application.


3. INFORMING SCIENTISTS, EDUCATORS & COMMUNICATORS

We will inform other scientists, educators & communicators through our links with the following organisations & networks:
- South East Physics Network
- Institute of Physics teacher networks
- Royal Astronomical Society
- BIG STEM Communicators Network
- VOICES music in STEM
- Association for Science Education (ASE)

Articles about the project will be submitted to Physics World and The Guardian's Brain Flapping blog (for whom John Hinton has previously written 2 guest articles), and to the newsletters and internal publications of all partner organisations, and will be published on the project's own website www.ensonglopedia.com.

In Ensonglopedia's experience of touring, the live shows are well attended by scientists, science educators and communicators, particularly at science festivals. Anecdotally, educators often comment on how useful the shows have been in providing ideas for classroom teaching, which will be greatly enhanced with the additional resource of accompanying videos and teachers' packs.

A detailed evaluation of the project, including an evaluation of the co-operation with each of the project partners, will be distributed to all partners.