CREATIVE EXTERNALITIES
News and Things for February 2019
Curated by Ben Young Landis
- March 8th Connecting with Your Audience workshop
- Science Translators Showcase bridges students and legislators
- Science Talk conference returns to PDX
- I swipe for the trees? Timber app surprises
- Oakland Museum asks guests to #takeactionOMCA
CWYAscicomm Workshop Back in Sacramento, March 8th
Thanks to all of you who have participated in the past, our Connecting with Your Audience Workshop had a successful independent debut this February and will be held again in Sacramento this March. If you know of other students and professionals in the sciences who are new to scicomm or need a refresher, please do share this opportunity with them. (March 8th Registration Link | Designing CWYA)
Science Translators Showcase Bridges Students and Legislators
On February 6th, the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) hosted their latest California Science Translators Showcase inside the California State Capitol. Originally designed for CCST by Ben Young Landis, the #CCSTShowcase recruits graduate student and postdoc scientists and trains them for an afternoon of conversational networking with state legislators and staffers. Congratulations to CCST’s Brie Lindsey on leading this great program! (February Photos | Meet the Cohort | Designing the Showcase)
Science Talk conference returns to PDX
Registration is open for Science Talk ’19 in Portland, Oregon, April 4-5. A professional development and networking event for scicomm practitioners, #SciTalk19 is a fun “unconference” organized by a passionate group of Portland-based scientists, writers, and creatives. After presenting at #SciTalk18, Ben Young Landis will return to Science Talk this year to debut a new workshop. (SciTalk19 Registration Info | SciTalk18 Photos)
I Swipe for the Trees? Timber App Has a Surprise
Advertising Age recently wrote about “Timber” — a game imitating dating apps such as Tinder and Bumble, except with photos of tall, gorgeous trees. A user can swipe right and be “matched” with a 230-year old oak in Germany, for example. But this turns out to be an advertising stunt for the Husqvarna Chainsaw Academy, a website from the Swedish power tool company. A bit morbid, if you ask us, to find your dream match for a date with a chainsaw. Imagine how an app idea like this might be better repurposed for, say, an Arbor Day or forest ecology awareness campaign? (Read the AdAge Story)
Oakland Museum’s #takeactionOMCA Display Engages Civic Action
Our team took a field trip this month to the Oakland Museum of California for some creative stimulation, and one display especially caught our eye. At the end of the wonderfully designed Black Power exhibit in OMCA’s history wing, visitors are confronted with a series of stark, black-and-white postcards, each with slogans like “Check Your Privilege” or “Vote with Your Bank Account”. Guests are invited to take the cards that resonate with them — which, on the back of each card, then educates the guest on one simple way to take civic action on that theme. We think it’s a wonderful design idea for visitor engagement. (See Our Photos | Visit the Exhibit)
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“Have fun. Do no harm. Leave the world a better place.”
— Ben Young Landis
