Chasing the Waves

'Chasing the Waves' is a live, interactive and musical show which tells the story of what has been hailed as "one of the greatest scientific discoveries of the century": the detection of gravitational waves. The show will draw on the research and experiences of scientists directly involved in this discovery, allowing the public to gain a behind-the-scenes insight into the world of research. 'Chasing the Waves' will be targeted to upper secondary schools in areas of multiple deprivation and a general public audience.

This exciting, collaborative project will bring together public engagement practitioners at Glasgow Science Festival, University of Glasgow physicists from the Institute of Gravitational Research including Prof Martin Hendry and Dr Peter Murray, musician Stuart Cromarty and actor and writer Emily Benita, in order to fulfil the following aims:

- To promote collaboration between scientists and the arts community, in order to produce engaging, physics-inspired content that appeals to a non-scientifically trained audience, or people who do not usually engage with science
- To communicate the research and experiences of the STFC-funded Glasgow physicists and astronomers involved in the detection of gravitational waves
- To promote and celebrate the UK contribution to the detection of gravitational waves and explain the significance of this discovery
- To share the history of the search for gravitational waves, from Einstein's prediction in 1916 through to the present day, including the Glasgow story
- To connect Glaswegians with the research happening right on their doorstep
- To break down perceived barriers between scientists and the public by enabling face-to-face contact at fun, informal events
- To connect with school pupils from areas of multiple deprivation through positive and memorable learning experiences, encouraging interest and recruitment into science subjects and careers
- To give researchers a platform to share what they do with the public and practise skills in communication

The predicted overall impacts of this project are:

- An increased awareness of STFC-funded research among school children, teachers and the general public
- Raised aspirations and awareness of career opportunities among school pupils from areas of multiple deprivation
- Support and increased confidence for teachers in presenting cutting-edge research in the classroom, linking to the Curriculum for Excellence, 'Topical Science'
- By fostering relationships with researchers and members of the arts community during 'Chasing the Waves', this will aid development of future collaborative projects and events
- In our experience of previous projects, there will be a meaningful impact on the researchers involved; researchers who participate in our public engagement projects are supported through training and content development, giving them the confidence to pursue further activities over the course of their careers.
- We also anticipate that this project will have a positive impact on the careers and skills development of the arts performers, connecting them with new sources of inspiration and new audiences.
- Many high-end theatre productions (e.g. Edinburgh Fringe shows) are costly to deliver, with significant technical requirements and setup. The project will enable us to test the short-form musical theatre format as a low-cost, engaging and collaborative method of public engagement; this will allow us to develop a model for application to other subjects for future delivery by us, or by other science communicators.
- We predict that using the arts as a 'hook' will allow us to effectively reach people who do not usually engage with science. By targeting this public, we hope to break down perceived barriers and encourage attendance of this demographic at future science events.

We will market our free shows to secondary schools through the STEMNET service, Local Education Authorities as well as the Glasgow Science Festival mailing list, which includes teachers as subscribers. In particular, we will target schools in postcodes lying in areas of multiple deprivation.

Our drinks reception and 'taster' show for researchers will be promoted internally through the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Glasgow, with ample opportunity for feedback and discussion of ideas/the show's content.

The adult show will be marketed using the Glasgow Science Festival website, mailing list and social media (Facebook: 2,229 'likes'; Twitter: 2,999). We will also make use of listing websites like The Skinny and The List (popular with our target audience), University of Glasgow corporate communications, Glasgow City of Science and other networks. A press release will be composed and distributed in order to gain news coverage for the event.

We will create a project section on the GSF website dedicated to 'Chasing the Waves' which will host a series of resources, including: blog interviews with scientists, a storyboard of the project and its development, evaluation video and more, providing an informal and engaging resource for the public and educators. Questions posed to physicists during the careers section of our school events will also be noted and used to create a resource for use in the classroom by teachers and other educators. This will be supplemented with additional materials and links to further learning. Materials will be available online for easy, free access.

At the end of the project, our report will be freely available to other public engagement practitioners.

In order to capture the challenges, lessons learned and experiences of the team, we will film and edit an evaluation video. The video will include footage from the shows and our team focus meeting at the end of the project. This will be hosted on our website and distributed via the PSCI-Comm Mailing List, Sci Comm Scotland Facebook Group, GSF Social Media and other networks.

GSF are often invited to give talks at science communication conferences and public engagement events. We will use such opportunities to highlight 'Chasing the Waves' as a case study, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of our project for shared learning.