Welcome
The Evolving Culture of Science Engagement is an initiative to explore how the public connects to science, how science connects to the public, and how it’s all changing in the 21st century. What are the new strategies, sensibilities, and settings of science communication and education? And what can we learn by looking at science engagement through the lens of culture? Read more...
A picture of a dress set the Internet ablaze last week. The photo’s ambiguous light source creates a powerful visual illusion: to some viewers, the dress looks black and blue; to others it’s plainly white and gold. Social media users around the world latched on, and the science behind the illusion became a major part of the conversation. You can’t buy this kind of popular attention to a scientific question. But you can learn from it. How can science communicators get better at igniting this type of widespread, passionate, educational, and fun conversation online? What are some of the key lessons we can draw from the phenomenon of the black and blue dress (I swear, it is black and blue).