Science Snaps - 2005

Science Snaps was a series of short radio programmes boradcast in 2005 designed to reach a wider audience than usual for science communication acitivities. The format was devised by Dr Sue Bird of the Rowett Institute in conjunction with The BA (The British Association for the Advancement of Science). The project was a "promotion" for National Science Week 2005.

As well as recording one of the science snaps, Chris undertook a full evaluation of the project and wrote this up for his MSc Dissertation. He was awarded a Distinction for this piece of work:

An evaluation of “SCIENCESNAPS”: a radio promotion for national science week in North East Scotland

Abstract (taken from the final dissertation)

Science Snaps was a science communication initiative devised to reach people in North East Scotland who are not already engaged in science. The aim of the initiative was to promote National Science Week, and science in general, to the Northsound 1 radio audience in North East Scotland.

The use of local commercial radio was a key feature of Science Snaps and the inherent features of the communication medium increase the potential impact with the audience. The style and format of Science Snaps, defined in this research as a “Trojan-horse” approach, contributed to the potential for the project to achieve its aim of reaching its target audience.

Repetition of Science Snaps is recommended as a series of locally run projects in different parts of the UK, retaining the essential features of the original concept, rather than seeking to convert it to a national initiative.