Science in the Eye of the Beer-Holder—How To Put On an Effective Pint of Science: The Adelaide Experience

Abstract

“Pint of Science” is an outreach activity bringing the latest scientific discoveries to the community in the relaxed atmosphere of a pub. Founded in the United Kingdom in 2012, this three-night festival in May is now held annually in cities around the world. Today, Pint of Science contributes to science education and engages peers and the public alike, demystifying science at a pub near you. This article gives advice about how to organize a Pint of Science festival, as exemplified by the Adelaide/South Australia chapter’s 2017 experience.

WHAT IS PINT OF SCIENCE?

Pint of Science is an annual festival that occurs over three evenings in May, in multiple cities around the globe simultaneously. This outreach activity was founded in 2012 by UK-based scientists Praveen Paul and Michael Motskin with the goal of bringing science to society and sparking people’s interest in scientific discoveries happening locally (1). Organized by postgraduate and postdoctoral volunteers and hosted in the relaxed atmosphere of a pub, the festival gives researchers a platform to present their work to the public in an accessible format and engage with the community, thereby raising public awareness. For attendees, it is an opportunity to interact with scientists at the forefront of cutting-edge research. The discussion and dialogue arising out of a Pint of Science event address scientific literacy through teaching the principles behind certain scientific phenomena and potentially addressing public misconceptions around an issue, such as climate change or vaccine safety.

The steadily growing festival took place in ten countries on four continents in 2017 (Fig. 1), with 175 participating cities (www.pintofscience.com). Over 1,000 postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers around the globe volunteered to showcase scientific themes, including: “Beautiful Mind” (neuroscience, psychiatry, psychology), “Atoms to Galaxies” (physics, chemistry, math), “Our Body” (human biology, health, medicine), “Planet Earth” (earth sciences, zoology, plant science), “Tech Me Out” (technology, engineering, computing), and “Our Society” (sociology, law, history, policy) (1). The Adelaide event focused on the theme “Make Your Health Great Again.”

FIGURE 1.

Countries participating in Pint of Science 2017 (map) and Pint of Science chapters, including year established (box). Image courtesy of Pint of Science.

The Evening’s Format

Each night, two speakers give 20-minute presentations on the night’s theme, followed by 10-minute question-and-answer sessions. An intermission between the talks gives the audience an opportunity to engage with the invited scientists and also includes games and activities organized by the local Pint of Science team. The Adelaide event featured a pub quiz, a silent auction for experimental beers and wines donated by the Australian Wine Research Institute, and interactive challenges such as building a tower with marshmallows and skewers. After the event, everybody is welcome to stay for further discussion, thereby creating an opportunity for the audience to engage and connect with each other and with the researchers in attendance, making the evening both a scientific and a social event.

HOW TO PUT ON AN EFFECTIVE PINT OF SCIENCE: REFLECTIONS ON OUR EXPERIENCE

Volunteers are crucial to a successful event. Every year in November, the Pint of Science founders email universities and research institutes to solicit local organizers and volunteers, although interested individuals can also directly contact contact@pintofscience.com to get involved. Teams of volunteers are formed, typically comprising five to ten people, with one volunteer appointed as the city coordinator responsible for facilitating discussions between the national Pint of Science team and the local organizing team.

Teamwork is essential to bring Pint of Science to life. The first local team meeting usually takes place in December, at which time the team outlines the itinerary for the following months, assigns different roles to team members (general helper, volunteers for social media, advertising, fundraising, treasurer, MC), discusses ideas, choses topics, and proposes potential speakers. From there, the next steps include securing funding, finding a venue, identifying and inviting engaging speakers, and broad advertisement.

Practical tips

Funding

Identify local funding bodies, including universities, companies, or community organizations, to reach out to. Sponsors benefit from public visibility and the opportunity to promote their work to the audience via a company stand, banners, and/or merchandise. Sponsors should be acknowledged in all event advertisements. In addition, funding is received through ticket sales, beginning one month prior to the festival via the Pint of Science website. The contingent depends on the venue; typically 50 to 100 tickets are sold per night for $5 per ticket.

Venue

Find a local pub that can accommodate 50 to 100 people. As the festival is held from Monday to Wednesday, which are mainly calm nights for pubs, many pubs are happy to host the event for free or at an affordable rate, as they benefit from the food and drink sales.

Speakers

With your team, identify and contact scientists from local universities, companies, and/or health agencies whose research might appeal to a mixed audience of people with and without a scientific background. Choose engaging speakers who are both entertaining and knowledgeable. Ensure the event has a well-balanced speaker portfolio in terms of gender, cultural background, research field, and career stage. Selecting early- and mid-career researchers, such as postdoctoral fellows or new faculty members, provides them with an opportunity for community engagement that they may wish to highlight on their CV. In total, you will need six speakers—two for each of the three festival nights; the city-coordinator should invite them four to six months in advance to make sure they are available.

Advertising

The national Pint of Science team will provide the local organizing team with posters, merchandise, and access to online promotion platforms, including a professional Pint of Science-branded website and social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter). Local teams are encouraged to place advertisements in local print media and to contribute to the event’s social media presence by posting about speakers, the venue, and ticket sales and inviting people to attend. This can be done by any team member, or delegated to a specific individual. One team member should be assigned to tweet about the event as it happens, as live tweets from every participating city during the festival allow sharing of the exciting science stories and achievements from around the world.

PINT OF SCIENCE 2017 IN ADELAIDE

The Adelaide event—with the theme “Make Your Health Great Again”—included six researchers from local universities. On the first night, Dr. Laura Weyrich (Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, University of Adelaide) explained how Neanderthals’ dental tartar can give clues about human health and disease (2) and Dr. Michael Conlon (CSIRO Food and Nutritional Sciences) clarified the importance of gut bacteria for maintaining health (3). On night two, Associate Professor Briony Forbes (Department of Medical Biochemistry, Flinders University) discussed the medicinal potential of cone snails and platypus venom (4) and Dr. Justin Chalker (School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Flinders University) inspired the audience with his fascinating presentation on remediating mercury pollution with an inexpensive sulfur-canola oil rubber made from industrial waste (5). The finale was an interactive presentation on the science and history of mutation breeding by Dr. Heather Bray (Department of History, University of Adelaide) and Professor Rachel Burton (ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell Walls, University of Adelaide) (6, 7). Relying on props rather than PowerPoint slides, the presenters informed and entertained, creatively showing how DNA changes occur using a homemade DNA strand built from swim noodles and a garden hose (www.youtube.com/watch?v=L72WI08_Gp4).

Every speaker explained complex scientific concepts in a meaningful and engaging style, using clear language. The many questions from the audience and the thriving discussions following the talks suggested that the audience was curious and interested in learning more.

The three Adelaide Pint of Science nights sold out one week prior to the festival, with 100 people attending every night, indicating keen interest from the community. Each attendee was encouraged to give feedback through a voluntary online survey following the festival to determine the demographics of those who attended, their educational background, how the speakers and the venue were received, and whether the participant considered the event education. The data collected were used for internal evaluation and for planning for subsequent years’ events.

CURIOUS? GET INVOLVED!

As the Pint of Science founders described in an article summarizing their own experience in launching the festival, “Pint of Science is a grassroots scientific exchange effort that has gone global in a few years based on a straightforward approach, minimal resources, and the enthusiasm and dedication of volunteers” (1). Running a local event is a rewarding way of bringing science to the community and connecting with science-minded peers and the public. In 2018, Pint of Science will be held 14–16 May in 19 countries around the world. To find a Pint of Science event near you and to get more information, visit www.pintofscience.com.