The Center for Communicating Science

The Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science "works to enhance understanding of science by helping train the next generation of scientists and health professionals to communicate more effectively with the public, public officials, the media, and others outside their own discipline."

This aim makes the website comprehensible to students studying English, and the variety of topics covered ensures that students will find something that interests them. This aim is also a worthy one for students to achieve, since they will have to communicate with "others outside their discipline" in their professional careers.

Link to website: http://www.centerforcommunicatingscience.org

One way in which the Center helps to train students and young professionals in communicating science is "The Flame Challenge," which is described as "explaining science to an 11-year-old." This is an annual competition to answer a question in a way that an 11-year-old would understand. The questions are submitted by 9- to 12-year-olds, and one is chosen each year for the competition. In 2014 the question was: "What is color?" The winning entries - one in the written category and one in the visual category - are available on the website.

The 2014 winners: http://www.centerforcommunicatingscience.org/the-flame-challenge-2/flame-challenge-winners-2014/

Since this is an interesting challenge for engineering students, teachers can set up their own "Flame Challenge" to see which students can explain their ideas, research or project most clearly.

Another section of the website is Science Shows, which includes "Science on Tap." This is a collection of videos on a variety of topics that are presented to a lay audience. The setting is a pub (hence "on tap"), with an interviewer talking with an expert in the particular area.

The videos: http://www.centerforcommunicatingscience.org/watch-science-on-tap

The episodes so far:

1. The Physics of Sport with Chang Kee Jung
2. Evolution and the Crocodile with Paul Gignac
3. Savory Science: food, flavor and feelings with Alfredo Fontanini
4. Pay Attention! ADHD and the Brain with Mary Kritzer
5. Back to the Stone Age with John Shea
6. What do you Remember? with Nancy Franklin
7. Driving on Mars with Scott McLennan
8. The Lemurs of Madagascar with Patricia Wright

The first four episodes are in two parts. The timing of each episode is between 30 and 45 minutes, so whether students can handle this depends, of course, on the class and the students' level. But the clear speaking and casual interaction between interviewer and expert make these videos very student-friendly. So they could be used for a variety of student projects and activities.