• Question: Do you belong to any clubs or groups that talk about science together?

    Asked by anon-218615 to Shannah, Richard, johnpaterson, Emma, Anna on 19 Jun 2019.
    • Photo: Emma Markham

      Emma Markham answered on 19 Jun 2019:

      I’m establishing a network of STEM ambassadors at work, this is a coffee morning once a month so we can share our experiences and best practice, what worked well and what didn’t during classrooms outreach visits, support and encourage each other as well as sharing resources and equipment.
      I work in an office full of scientists, so I do discuss science headlines and discoveries a lot at work. The science community on Twitter is also amazing and would highly encourage you to consider a Twitter account, as this is now where I find most of my science news and have my best conversations relating to science.
      Other organisations or groups which discuss science informally and are designed for a general audience include Soapbox Science, Pint of Science, Skeptics in the Pub, and more.

    • Photo: John Paterson

      John Paterson answered on 19 Jun 2019:

      Most universities have different lab groups and journal meetings where people in the department meet up and discuss their research or new science that’s been published. I am also a part of several scientific societies like the British Ecological Society and the Society for the Study of Evolution. They meet up every year and have big international meetings where people talk about the latest science in their subject area. I am also a member of societies that are about finding and recording animals, like the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and the Dipterists Forum (diptera are flies).

      If you’re interested in joining any clubs or meetings then it’s always worth doing a Google search of your local area. There are often societies or clubs you could join if your school doesn’t already run one. If you’re more interested in nature then you could also look at the events and membership of RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) here https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/ or learn to identify bees as part of bumblebee walk here: https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/surveys/

      I also listen to some podcasts about science – the BBC does 5 Live Science and Inside Science on Radio 4, both of which you can download as podcasts.

    • Photo: Anna Gardner

      Anna Gardner answered on 19 Jun 2019:

      Hi there, Yes this is a great way to find out new discoveries and share ideas and problems. I am a part of a few clubs/groups that have really helped me out over the years. At my university we have a PhD researcher meeting where each week we meet to discuss problems with our experiments and share solutions. We also discuss other science not related directly to our work (this is so that we learn a variety of things). It really helps to know that you are not alone when you are doing research, it becomes similar to The Big Bang Theory. We make lots of friends for life! I am also a member of the Royal Society of Biology- A great group for all kinds of biologists where we get together every year and talk science! https://www.rsb.org.uk/ They also have really cool competitions. One at the moment is for 10-18 year olds ( a drawing competition where the winner gets some free tickets to an event). I am also a part of more social science groups like the RSPB (we go for bat walks, whale watch and bird watch) and The local Wildlife trust https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/ these do really interesting meetings too. As John said – there are soo many clubs you can join and with the prize money I am hoping to set up my own club. I will be visiting schools, like yours, and the prize money will allow me to purchase the equipment to be able to make a club like this! The world is your oyster- so if there is not a club around that you want, simply make your own club 🙂

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