By Christine Imbs
No two words
can cause glassy eyes and blank stares quite like science and
technology. That's because most people's perceptions about scientific
research and scientists are generally tied to Hollywood's depiction
of such characters as Dr. Frankenstein or the Nutty Professor.
But come this October, science, scientists, and St. Louis will
be seen in a whole new light.
SciFest '08,
a science festival that will run from October 9-13 at the Saint
Louis Science Center, plans to not only change people's perceptions
about science and technology, but to show them a good time while
they're at it.
"Most
people would say they're not science people. But just like you
don't have to be a great ball player to enjoy the game, you don't
have to be a scientist to enjoy science," says Doug King,
CEO of the
Saint Louis Science Center. ÒAnd youÕve got to see
this to believe it."
SciFest '08
is actually a spin-off of the Cheltenham Science Festival in Cheltenham,
England. Known worldwide as a festival city, this small town of
100,000 people boasts four annual festivals including jazz, classical
music, literature and science. With combined ticket sales of 125,000,
all four festivals boast enviable international reputations as
leaders in their field.
"I attended
Cheltenham's Festival two years ago and it was far from the dull,
boring experience most people would think," says King. "The
speakers were entertaining, the topics interesting and everyone
genuinely had a good time. In fact, the largest and most raucous
session I attended was the ÒScience of Laughter" where
we discussed why we laugh and what makes something funny. It was
fascinating and fun. And this is precisely what we hope to reproduce
here."
The Cheltenham Science Festival was
created seven years ago at the request of the English government who saw the interest in science declining. They wanted something that would engage the general public in such a way that it would generate new enthusiasm for the field.
"What
we came up with is completely unlike the traditional model of
a science festival where scientists put together a program they
think will interest the public," says Frank Burnet, founder
of the Cheltenham Science Festival and co-director of SciFest
'08. "So what we're doing is actually looking at science
from the publicÕs point-of-view. There's a great deal you
can do with people without them even realizing that what they're
doing is science."
For example,
the 2008 Cheltenham Science Festival features a program titled
"Shaken or Stirred?" which discusses what it is about
the combination of vodka and vermouth that makes James Bond such
a fan of the vodka martini. And "The Science of Formula One"
touches on how to keep a Formula One car on the track at top speed.
And yes, the programs are all presented by scientists.
"Only
those who can speak really well and at the audience's level are
chosen for the Cheltenham festival," Burnet says. "That
makes a huge difference. And it's not just some scientist coming
in, plugging in their PowerPoint presentation, and then leaving.
The intention is to catch them up in the experience along with
the audience to generate an interaction that may well spill out
into the hallway afterward. So everyone has a good time together,
and the public gets to see scientists as something other than
weird men in lab coats."
SciFest '08
will be the first time the Cheltenham Festival will be replicated
outside the United Kingdom. St. Louis, San Francisco, Boston and
New York all competed for the honor. St. Louis was chosen in part
because of its strong scientific community and its excellent universities.
But it was the local community's support that really impressed
Burnet.
"We needed
somewhere where the community would be with us," he explains.
"We didn't want to just go someplace, put on a jolly good
event and then bug out. That's very unsatisfying. I could sense
that here we would have a community and science center to do this
thing the way we really wanted to. And then we could make this
quite complicated transfer from one culture to another."
King says
he believes having SciFest here will go a long way in educating
the St. Louis community about science and technology, and St.
Louis' part in it.
"We've
come so far with the CORTEX District, the Life Sciences Coalition
and others in making St. Louis a center of biotechnology. But
if we really want to raise St. Louis' visibility, it's important
to raise our own community's awareness of just how important science
and technology is to our future," he says. "If we can
do that, then they'll help tell the story. And that will go a
long way in changing St. Louis' image."
Mike Behr,
chief strategist of Behr Strategies and executive director of
SciFest '08, says the festival will also give St. Louis an opportunity
to show off to the people who really matter in the scientific
world.
"We've
got all these assets around science and technology but we usually
don't get the credit for it, at least not compared to a San Diego,
San Francisco or Boston," he says. "SciFest will bring
some very prominent people in the world of science and science
communications to St. Louis. So we're going to be highlighting
a lot of what we have such as Washington University, Monsanto
and Sigma-Aldrich."
Behr says they are currently looking for sponsors for the festival in addition to State funding. Currently, both Pfizer and Monsanto are on board. Also, they are still working on a program, including a key speaker.
"We have
several possibilities that weÕre kicking around,"
he says. "Richard Branson, Alan Alda, Tony Blair and Al Gore
have been mentioned, but nothing is definite at this point. Also,
since the festival will be held prior to the November elections,
weÕre considering approaching the political candidates
to discuss such topics as stem cell research and alternative fuels."
Behr says the Science Center has a three-year commitment with Cheltenham for the festival. He says it will take that long to build the momentum necessary to gain international attention.
"It's
like slowly rolling a rock uphill," he says. "But if
we do it right the first year, people will talk and we'll get
that attention. And then we could have this festival indefinitely."
Still, King
admits getting the public to come to a science event isn't easy.
"The
public is just interested in other things—how much David
Beckham scored or Albert PujolÕs latest home run,"
he explains. "So realistically we're expecting a modest turnout
the first year. But once people see it, theyÕll get it.
And word-of-mouth will bring them in during years two, three and
beyond. So St. Louis has got the Final Four of Science. And we're
going to work hard to make it a success. It's just that important."
|
