Shine
Lead Research Organisation:
University of St Andrews
Department Name: Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
Shine is a public engagement project that uses science, art and music to talk about properties of light, and how these properties are used in astronomy to study stars and galaxies. In particular, Shine focuses on spectra. We introduce the concept that white (galaxy)light can be unraveled into colours (spectra), with different galaxy properties (chemical composition, kinematics) resulting in different colours (emission lines). We use artistic interpretations of spectra to start this conversation, and to discuss modern astronomy research. We especially want to highlight the multi-spectroscopic and integral-field surveys SDSS-IV and WEAVE, which both have a significant UK membership.
Organisations
- University of St Andrews (Fellow, Lead Research Organisation, Project Partner)
- Scottish Fisheries Museum (Collaboration)
- Sloan Digital Sky Survey (Collaboration)
- University of St Andrews (Collaboration)
- Las Cruces Space Festival (Collaboration)
- Orkney International Science Festival (Collaboration)
- Minerva Scientifica (Collaboration)
- University of La Laguna (Project Partner)
- University of Portsmouth (Project Partner)
- University of Nottingham (Project Partner)
- Royal Greenwich Observatory (Project Partner)
- The Red Field (Project Partner)
- University of Oxford (Project Partner)
- University of North Carolina at Asheville (Project Partner)
Publications
Lundgren B.
(2019)
Data-driven education and public outreach with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
in Boletin de la Asociacion Argentina de Astronomia La Plata Argentina
| Title | Are you there? |
| Description | Composition for Ruben's Tube and mono audio, by Matthew Grouse. Commissioned and performed for Musical Waves as part of Science Discovery Day 2021. |
| Type Of Art | Composition/Score |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | We have not been able to live-perform the piece yet due to Covid restrictions, and it has only premiered on-line so far as part of Musical Waves during Science Discovery Day 2021. Although feedback from the general public is therefore not readily available, the impact this piece had on the composer is more direct: Matthew Grouse was very keen to be involved in another composition with physics and is now preparing a work around Chladni Plates, which will premiere in 2022. |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0COYPMgWeA4 |
| Title | Giant Walking Neon Spectrum |
| Description | We walked a giant neon spectrum around the Observatory in St Andrews, during one of the Astrophysics welcome events during Orientation Week. This was a reaction on 'Hand Made Light', where a 50m long spectrum was painted on a rooftop in Las Cruces, New Mexico, US. Our walking spectrum, although it only existed temporary, was 100m long. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | Introduced the Shine project to the student population. |
| URL | https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/physics/news/Panda_news/amw_shine_neon_spectrum_13_09_19.php |
| Title | Hand Made Light (Las Cruces Space Festical 2019) |
| Description | Hand Made Light is the title of the art collection by Tim Fitzpatrick created during the Las Cruces Space Festival 2019. This collection consists of: * a giant neon sign on the rooftop of a building: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3baTo9jm4bo * a print of an Halpha line in the desert landscape: http://theredfield.co.uk/landscape-of-waves * a short movie 'We choose to go to the Moon', trailer available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cQcnB8i1PE |
| Type Of Art | Artwork |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | Still under evaluation. There is big community interest from Las Cruces in the movie, which features local people, and Tim has been invited again as a featured artist for the Space Festival in 2020. The movie will be submitted to film festivals. |
| URL | http://theredfield.co.uk/landscape-of-waves |
| Title | In the event of always falling down. |
| Description | Artwork by Tim Fitzpatrick, in Physics and Astronomy building. The work is inspired by the solar spectrum. It is visible directly from the entrance of the building, and contains an information plague. The artwork was presented at Science Discovery Day 2022. |
| Type Of Art | Artwork |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | Impact is on-going: it is being featured during open days as a way to open a dialogue. Inspired a student blog post: https://laidlawscholars.network/posts/in-the-event-of-always-falling-back-down-again. |
| URL | https://www.timfitzpatrick.co.uk/post/in-the-event-of-falling-back-down-again |
| Title | Judgement of Paris |
| Description | Performance of the Baroque Opera 'Judgment of Paris' by British composer John Eccles. This performance by student musicians and singers focused on colour and stars, and was introduced with a short astronomy talk on the link between colour, temperature, stars and musical keys. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Impact | Audience feedback revealed that the concept that colour and temperature are related, and that stars have different colours, was new knowledge. Feedback also showed that the audience appreciated the mix of science and arts, and wanted to see more performances that lift the boundaries between these. |
| Title | Minerva Scientifica Muscial Scores |
| Description | School pupils composed music based on (astro)physics research. All music recordings can be found on the following pages dedicated to St Andrews researchers: * https://minervascientifica.co.uk/anne-marie-weijmans-2/ * https://minervascientifica.co.uk/meng-yang/ * https://minervascientifica.co.uk/kristin-bjorg-arnardottir/ * https://minervascientifica.co.uk/mari-cole/ * https://minervascientifica.co.uk/lethy-krishnan-jagadamma/ * https://minervascientifica.co.uk/stephanie-matern-2/ |
| Type Of Art | Composition/Score |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | The high school students reported an increased interest in science. An additional impact was on the scientists involved in the project, whose feedback was that at the start of the project they were not sure how music could capture research, but that they were inspired by the approach that the students took, and that it was emotional to hear their work through someones music. |
| URL | https://minervascientifica.co.uk |
| Title | Musical Waves |
| Description | This performance was on-line due to Covid restrictions, and featured an astronomer and musician introducing and talking about short videos that showcase the physics of music and astronomy. It was broadcasted as part of Science Discovery Day 2021, and contains a follow-up to the Musical Waves school workshops delivered in the weeks before this event. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | The general feedback on Science Discovery Day that Musical Waves was part of was very positive. This also was a major collaboration between the public engagement teams of the University, the School of Physics and Astronomy, and the Laidlaw Music centre, and the theme of Musical Waves has been further developed for Science Discovery Day 2022. |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DBP7c5y0To |
| Title | Stars and Spectra |
| Description | This was a live-performance in collaboration with StAMP, which offers trumpet lessons to young pupils, and follows up on the performance of 'Under Stars and Satellites' from 2020. Following the same principle of combining music with astronomy, we explore the concept of spectra and their use in astronomical research throughout the last centuries. The performance includes a new piece written by John Wallace around the birth of a star, and an improvisation on star properties. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | StAMPs 2021/2022 report is under construction, and evaluation will be released later this year. |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1j_KXp1uax8 |
| Title | Under Stars and Satellites |
| Description | On-line concert that included music from professional brass quintets (RSNO and The Wallace Collection), trumpet player and composer Markus Stockhausen, and the pupils taking part in the St Andrews Music Participation Project. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Impact | We had very positive reactions from both pupils and parents on the concert and the astronomy workshops. The format of the concert inspired the Shine project 'Musical Waves' for Science Discovery Day 2021, which will premiere in March 2021. |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s4AUCQpf_4 |
| Title | We choose to go the the Moon |
| Description | Commissioned by the Las Cruces Space Festival, We choose to go to the Moon is the result of site specific art collaboration between Tim Fitzpatrick and Jeff Erwin. The project began life as an intervention at Kilbourne Hole - a two mile wide crater in the desert of southern New Mexico - and marked the 50 year anniversary of when the crew of the Moon mission Apollo 12 also visited the crater as part of their training in April 1969. From the initial documentary film footage of the event the two artists began to see very striking possibilities of this mission to the Moon as a road movie: the audience as the crew, the bus as the rocket and the bus driver as the mission commander! The resulting 16 minute film is brought to life by a highly original soundtrack composed by Andrew Knight-Hill in a collaboration with trumpeter Bede Williams. We choose to go to the Moon is the result of a unique, joint film collaboration between Shine, the art/science initiative of the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of St Andrews and the Las Cruces Space Festival in New Mexico. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Impact | Film was created to be shown with dolby surround sound at Las Cruces Space Festival 2020, as it was filmed as part of activities in the 2019 edition of the event. Unfortunately, the festival in 2020 got cancelled due to Covid, so instead we had an on-line premiere with zoom Q&A afterwards. We did however get many positive reactions, and artist Tim Fitzpatrick is still listed as artist in residence at the Space Festival for when it will return. |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjUxY4Apf8U |
| Description | Las Cruces Space Festival |
| Organisation | Las Cruces Space Festival |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Our Shine artist Tim Fitzpatrick was invited to create spectra inspired art for Las Cruces Space Festival 2019. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Las Cruces Space Festival provided venues and logistics for the artwork, and advertised the art and activities as part of their Festival program. They also contributed a filmcrew for one of the activities. |
| Impact | * giant neon sign on roof of court house building in Las Cruces --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3baTo9jm4bo * printed artwork: H-alpha line in the New Mexico desert --> http://theredfield.co.uk/landscape-of-waves * short movie 'We choose to go to the Moon', will premiere at Las Cruces Space Festival 2020 |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Minerva Scientifica |
| Organisation | Minerva Scientifica |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | We collaborated with Minerva Scientifica for the 'Echoes Fae Fife' and 'Echoes from Perthshire' projects. We arranged for scientists of the School of Physics and Astronomy to meet with high school students as part of their music classes. The high school students then composed new musical works that were inspired by the research of the scientists. We also visited a primary school. The resulting compositions and songs were performed in public concerts. All information on the researchers, musical compositions and schools can be found on this website: https://minervascientifica.co.uk/. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partners organised the school visits, and worked with the music teachers and students to create the compositions. They also organised the concerts and took care of advertisement. Our two projects were among the many that they organised in Scotland, with different partners each time. |
| Impact | Multi-disciplanary: music and physics. The high school students composed music inspired by the (astro)physics research of our scientists. Outcomes: * musical compositions by high school students * concert performance * evaluation showed a positive impact on understanding of relevance of physics research for high school students that took part in project |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Scottish Fisheries Museum Anstruther |
| Organisation | Scottish Fisheries Museum |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Developed and delivered workshops for after-school activities, and delivered public talk along new exhibit on navigation and constellations. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Scottish Fisheries Museum contributed audience, advertisement and venue for these activities. |
| Impact | Informal agreement to continue collaborating in the future, and looking for connections between astronomy and activities in the Fisheries Museum. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Sloan Digital Sky Surveys Artist in Residence |
| Organisation | Sloan Digital Sky Survey |
| Department | Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Shine artist Tim Fitzpatrick was awarded the status of Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) artist in residence through an external collaborator agreement. |
| Collaborator Contribution | SDSS is providing Tim with access to proprietary data for artistic purposes, and provides a network and venue for his spectra inspired art. |
| Impact | Several artworks. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Stars and Monsters at Orkney Science Festival |
| Organisation | Orkney International Science Festival |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | * Developed and delivered interdisciplinary workshops to 5 schools, including remotely located ones * Provided a stand at Family Day as part of the Festival, in Kirkwall Grammar School * Provided narration on the lives and works of William and Caroline Herschel at 'Concert: The music of the stars', which featured music composed by William Herschel, in Kirkwall Cathedral |
| Collaborator Contribution | * Facilitation of workshops: contacting schools and organising the schedule * Provided introduction to Orkney story teller, for material of interdisplinary workshops. * Organised concert, including arrangment of music and musicians |
| Impact | * new interdisciplinary workshop, combining folklore and astronomy, which I presented at RASReach 2023, organised by Royal Astronomical Society * on-going collaboration, with invitation to deliver workshops again as part of Festival in 2023 * preliminary plans for more astronomy inspired music at Festival in 2023 |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Under Stars and Satellites |
| Organisation | University of St Andrews |
| Department | Laidlaw Music Centre |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I delivered astronomy workshops to the StAMP music lessons, which were used by the pupils to contribute to new compositions inspired by stars and satellites. I also delivered the narrative of the resulting concert which tied together music and astronomy. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The StAMP team offers trumpet lessons to children in Fife through schools in areas with the worst scores on the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD). They organised the concert, invited the trumpet player and composer Markus Stockhausen (Germany) on the project, and arranged for Greenwich-based composer Andrew Knight-Hill to work with the pupils on their astronomy-inspired music pieces. They also recorded and broadcasted the live concert. |
| Impact | This is a multi-disciplinary collaboration involving science and music. The outcome was a concert that is still available on YouTube (link above), and described under 'Artistic and Creative Products'. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Ask Me Anything |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I created videos for 'Ask me Anything': people could send in their questions for me on astronomy, and I would pick my top 3 questions to answer. I did this in summer 2020 for the Public Engagement Team at the University of St Andrews, and again in November 2020 for Explorathon. Combined videoviews (Facebook, Twitter, Glow) for these 6 videos was over 10,000 (excluding autoplay) with over 750 engagements (e.g., likes, comments, reactions). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/standengaged/ |
| Description | Dundee Science Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | We delivered an on-line Space Scavenger Hunt as part of Dundee Science Festival. Unfortunately only 2 participants called in, but both were very enthusiastic and got their whole family involved. One of them mentioned that they wanted to become an astronomer, and had lots of questions. Despite the low reach, we therefore still felt this was a meaningful activity with high impact on an individual level. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Explorathon |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Explorathon is a major science event taking place in Dundee Science Centre. In 2018 we participated with a range of astronomy demos, including demonstrating a Sloan Digital Sky Survey plate and providing the audience the opportunity to design their own galaxy and classify it on the Hubble Tuning Fork. In 2019 we ran similar activities, and also provided an astronomy talk for a scouting group. Update for 2020: virtual visit to a class room (P4) to talk about star gazing, introduce an art-based activity around constellations, and do a Q&A. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019 |
| URL | https://www.explorathon.co.uk/fife-and-tayside/ |
| Description | Explorathon 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Delivered a Pecha Kucha and an animated video (in collaboration with the Public Engagement with Reserach Team of the University of St Andrews) for Explorathon 2021. The animated video was viewed over 2,900 times in its original form, and has also been used for European Researchers Night. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://twitter.com/StAndEngaged/status/1435920930790854658 |
| Description | Family Day at Orkney Science Festival 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Delivered 'Ask An Astronomer' stand at Family Day on 3 September 2022 as part of Orkney Science Festival in Kirkwall. About 200 people, mostly families with young children attended. Interactions were about 5 minutes with each family, and consisted of true dialogues. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Las Cruces Space Festival 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Shine artist Tim Fitzpatrick created art installations and activities as an invited artist at the Las Cruces Space Festival 2019 in New Mexico, US. He created a neon spectrum on the rooftop of an art building (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3baTo9jm4bo), an artistic print of an Halpha emission line in the desert, and artistic intervention 'We choose to go to the Moon', which has led to the production of a short 17 minute movie, in collaboration also with the local radio station. This movie will be shown first at Las Cruces Space Festival 2020, where Tim has been asked to participate again as invited artist, and then will be submitted to various film festivals. A summary of the art installations, named Handmade Light, is available here: http://theredfield.co.uk/landscape-of-waves |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://lcspacefestival.com/ |
| Description | Life on Earth and Other Planets at Scottish Fisheries Museum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Workshop as part of after-school club in Scottish Fisheries Museum, attended by parents and 8-12 year old children, mostly from home-schooled families. Workshop took place on 10 August 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Minerva Scientifica |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | We collaborated with Minerva Scientifica to visit two secondary schools (Fife and Pertshire). Scientists talked about their research to music pupils, who then worked with their teacher and the composer leading Minerva Scientifica to compose their own musical pieces, based on the research discussed. We worked with about 10 S5/highers students and 5 S1/S2 students. We also visited one primary school (about 20 students). The music was performed in three concerts (one large concert for the Fife school, two smaller ones for Perthshire). The concerts were open to the general public and attended by an estimated 300 people. The school pupils were our main target group, and evaluation showed an increased interest in science. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://minervascientifica.co.uk |
| Description | Musical Waves Performance |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | As part of Science Discovery Day we released 'Musical Waves': a concert that contained musical performances, videos of musicians explaining how their instrument makes sound, and discussions of light and sound waves, and the use of light in astronomy. The concert also contained the premiere of 'Are you there' by Matthew Grouse: a musical composition for Ruben's Tube and mono-audio. The presenters also answered questions from pupils that had taken part in the Musical Waves schools workshops. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DBP7c5y0To |
| Description | Musical Waves School Workshops |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | As part of Musical Waves, we gave three workshops to P6/7 pupils in two different schools. These workshops were given by me and the Outreach Officer of the Laidlaw Music Centre. Due to lockdown, the workshops were completely on-line, with the pupils calling in on their own devices. We had given them a few short assignments beforehand that we discussed, and then talked about how musical instruments make sound (vibrations), how light and sound are both waves, and how astronomers use light and colour to learn more about stars. The workshops were interactive, with lots of pupil participation in the chat. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with the pupils being very enthusiastic and indicating that they enjoyed the workshops and learned new things. The teacher feedback was also very positive, with one teacher remarking that the engagement level was the highest they had seen so far, with some pupils calling in for this workshop that they had not seen all through lockdown. The workshop was meant to accompany the 'Musical Waves' performance, and the pupils were invited to submit questions after the workshop, that we addressed at this performance. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Orkney Science Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | As part of Orkney Science Festival, I delivered two school workshops on 'What's in Space', in which 9 schools took part. In total, 279 pupils attended, as well as their teachers. One of the workshops was aimed at P3-P5 level (163 pupils), and one at P5-P7 level (116 participants). The workshops were interactive, with good communication in the chat. The feedback from the teachers was very positive, reporting that the pupils shared their space facts for breaktime, and the connection with the school programme. In addition, we delivered an on-line Scavenger Hunt for a general audience, aimed at adults and families. This activity was attended by a small audience (about 10), who nevertheless participated very actively with a lot of discussion in the chat. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Podcast for 'Getting Better Together Science Club' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Podcast recorded on 4 May 2022, released on 17 August 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/listenlanarkshire394/episodes/GBT-Science-Club-Podcast-Episo... |
| Description | Science Discovery Day 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Science Discovery Day takes place in the School of Physics and Astronomy, and features researchers and scientists from the whole of the University of St Andrews. This year Shine took part with a newly acquired range of activities that demonstrated the wave-properties of sound. We also worked with the Music Outreach Officer to present a musical physics show in the lecture theatre. We welcomed over 3000 people, and the lecture theatre (seating 200) was full during the two shows. Most significant impact was that children reported learning that sound is created by vibrations (topic of music physics show). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Science Discovery Day 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Due to the pandemic, Science Discovery Day 2021 took place on line. With Musical Waves we were co-organisers of this event, and we contributed with organising short musical videos explaining the production of sound that were part of the Science Discovery Day broadcast, and with a Musical Waves concert (see separate entry). Science Discovery Day content had over 17,200 views and 6,700 engagements (reactions, clicks, shares/retweets) on the day, with 10,700 more video views over the next two weeks. The engagement rate was 6.4%, far above the 1% threshold that is considered high for most social media platforms. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://twitter.com/AMWeijmans/status/1368241445522538505 |
| Description | Shine at the Opera |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Shine at the Opera was centred around a production of the baroque opera 'The Judgment of Paris'. We concentrated on the connection between colour and key signatures in the baroque era, and drew a parallel with the use of colours in astronomy. As part of this project: * we engaged with two schools in Fife, that we visited to talk about astronomy (What's in Space?) and why stars have different colours. We then helped the children (P6/7) to compose their own music, based on a star * the school children (about 40) then did a lesson on opera music, with material provided by our educational officer * we performed a shortened version of the opera as a matinee, for the school children. The children came to the Byre Theatre by bus, and first spend an hour with several science demos. We also talked to them about music performance. * we had one evening performance as a fringe event for Voices Festival St Andrews, with an astronomy introduction. Audience estimate is about 150. The feedback from the school children revealed that they enjoyed the activity, that they had learned how temperatures and colours are connected, and that they learned about opera voices. Feedback from the evening performance showed that the public had also picked up the colour-temperature connection, with additional comments that they would like to see more art-science productions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Shine in the Twin Dome |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Shine has taken over the Twin Dome at the University Observatory in St Andrews. This dome stood empty for many years, but now hosts Shine exhibits and art activities during Open Nights. We note that with these exhibits we have attracted new visitors to our Open Nights, who indicated that they had not been before, but that they were interested in visiting due to presence of Tim Fitzpatrick's artwork. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019 |
| URL | http://observatory.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/twin-dome/ |
| Description | St Andrews Voices Festival 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The theme of Voices St Andrews this year was 'Light'. We were invited to give an astronomy inspired talk and workshop at a primary school in Fife, as part as a music-song lesson plan that Voices provided in collaboration with the school. We also ran a creative workshop for children during the Festival itself in St Andrews. In addition, local buildings were illuminated during the Festival with sound installations, and we were invited to give a short introduction to the guided tour group. During this talk we connected the light installations with the astrophysical phenomena they were inspired by. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.standrewsvoices.com/ |
| Description | StAMP Astronomy Workshops (Under Stars and Satellites) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I gave two astronomy workshops to three different age groups (P3/4, P5/6, P7/S1) of pupils taking part in the StAMP program (https://stamp.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/). We introduced concepts like satellites and their orbital speeds, and colours of stars. The students then took these concepts to work with a composer to record their own, astronomy inspired music pieces for the 'Stars and Satellites' concert. The workshops also led to an invite by one of the parents to deliver an astronomy webinar for scouting groups (scheduled for March 2021). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s4AUCQpf_4 |
| Description | Stars And Satellites |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | We delivered two workshops, one virtual planetarium show by an STFC PhD student, and one in-person workshop on stellar spectra by the PI, to primary school children taking part in the StAMP project (https://stamp.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/). The resulting concert was given by the StAMP participants and members of local brass bands. The program of the concert was built around the use of spectra in astronomy throughout the centuries. It featured one new composition on the Birth of a Star by John Wallace, and an improvisation on stellar spectra, as discussed in the workshop. The performance was live, but broadcasted on-line instead of to a live audience due to Covid restrictions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1j_KXp1uax8 |
| Description | Stars and Monsters: school workshops for Orkney Science Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Delivered 10 workshops in 5 primary schools in Orkney, as part of Orkney Science Festival 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Stars, constellations and how not to get lost |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Talk at Scottish Fisheries Museum on 2 February 2023. 20 people attended, which was at maximum capacity of venue. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | http://www.scotfishmuseum.org/events/event.php?s=2023-02-02-stars-constellations-and-how-not-to-get-... |
| Description | The Music of the Stars at Orkney Science Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I narrated a concert, featuring music of the composer and astronomer William Herschel. Concert was part of Orkney Science Festival 2022, and took place in Kirkwall Cathedral on 6 September 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://oisf.org/fest-event/concert-the-music-of-the-stars/ |
| Description | What's in Space at Big Bounce Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Part of Institute of Physics Scotland Big Bounce Festival in Glasgow, 30 October 2022. Two workshops, each attended by about 30 people. Audience consisted of families with young (primary school aged) children. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.iop.org/explore-physics/big-bounce-2022 |
| Description | What's in Space at Perth Museum and Art Gallery, as part of Blast Off exhibit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Invited by Perth Museum. Event was free but ticketed and sold out. About 40 people attended, audience was families with primary school aged children. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | What's in Space workshop at Scottish Fisheries Museum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | After-school workshop, attended by families with children aged 8-12 years. Workshop took place on 19 May 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |