I and my colleague Pooja, another research intern of Centre for Genetic Disorders, BHU, had the faintest idea of what science communication meant till this opportunity knocked our door. When our mentor Dr Chandana Basu told us about India Science Festival (ISF), she mentioned “ I am a great scicom enthusiast but you need to live the experience yourselves to know if you like science communication and if you would like to go for it again. This is a golden opportunity for you both since it’s the international science festival held annually in India and the pitch we had submitted has been selected. Let me know if you are interested”. We left her office but her last words definitely stayed with us and we thought it would be a pity to miss such a golden opportunity to participate in one of India’s largest science festivals. Next morning we enthusiastically went and told her that we would definitely like to join her.
For the next two weeks we did preparations needed for our Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) booth for Genetiks4U and the workshop. It was going to be our first experience in scicom so we were very excited. We made a list and procured what would be required. We also made the travel arrangements and everything was set, but as the dates came closer, we were anxious and overwhelmed. I am quite an introvert who would like to spend my weekends with a book in a cozy corner and I was just contemplating how am I going to handle the crowd and engage with the public. The thoughts haunted me, however I was making myself ready as the first step in learning- doing what you have never done before. Next day while we were discussing the event, Pooja said “ I am excited for ISF as I will get to spend two days in the warm and sunny weather of a new city in contrast to the cold and gloomy weather in Varanasi. “
We reached the beautiful city of Hyderabad at 1:00 am on January 21, completely tired. Even though we arrived late, our cofounder Ms Nandini Chilakam who is from Hyderabad made sure that we had food. It was our first visit to this city, but the people in that city helped us a lot. They were so hospitable and sincere in their actions. I was a bit anxious. I thought to myself -Oh my God!! I have to meet people and I was not sure if it was a good idea, but for once I really wanted to come out of my shell and experience the incredible compassion that people showed me towards science. I knew that there would be certain moments when I would not be able to explain everything to them and that they would not understand science the way I would like them to, but still wanted to be brave and give it a try.
It was a bright morning and beautiful weather. We reached the venue which was Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet. The school area was huge and its building was captivating. The banners and the standees were up and it looked like the most happening place on the Earth (Pic 1 and 2). We later figured out that it was the centenary celebrations of the school and that’s why they had requested if ISF 2023 could be hosted there.
We were given a table where we placed our things by the volunteers. We could see them running up and down to make sure that all the invitees had their required things to start their workshop. We were excited to place our Genetiks4U mascot which we carried all the way and thought children will have fun taking selfies with it (Pic 3). We had posters of fun facts of Genetics so we asked for the things we needed to hang our posters, the ISF volunteers were extremely helpful and soon our exhibit (Pic 4) was ready to visit. So, we were ready with our Genetics fun fact exhibit, huge mascot and our activity related to identifying one’s fingerprint pattern.
In that activity we were helping individuals to create their fingerprint using a stamp pad on a paper and then asking them to identify their fingerprint pattern. We all have unique fingerprints but we all have a fingerprint pattern that can be classified into three main categories- arch, whorl and loop. Interestingly, we all have unique fingerprints but all these fingerprints have a pattern which can be broadly of three types – whorl, arch or loop. When they could correctly identify it in one go using the magnifying lens, they felt overjoyed. Some of them were too enthusiastic to do all their five fingers.
Pooja says “Initially I was anxious but when I started explaining the concept behind the formation of fingerprints, I realized that these people are actually interested in our activity. They are here to learn about what we are doing, and I am here to represent our team and soon my stress disappeared and excitement kicked in and I felt confident from within. When I saw people in the audience nodding their heads, it was a great contentment that they were understanding the concepts and it was definitely motivating.”
Somehow the “fingerprint” word was creating the buzz in the ISF and many students came and told us that they were actually looking forward to learning about it as soon as they saw it listed in the program. Therefore, this being our first hand scicom experience was an amazing opportunity to share our knowledge with people across different regions and age groups. It was very different from attending a seminar or giving a scientific presentation. Infact, it was a challenge for us not to use scientific terms and to explain the science in layman terms. We then remembered the tips from our mentor Dr Chandana Basu – “no jargon to be used, be patient, check out what connects to the audience”.
We had people across all ages at our stall from a four year old to seventy four year old. It was a huge success, much more than we had imagined. We had an overwhelming crowd. There was a moment when I thought I would not be able to handle it, but I did it and it was a great satisfaction to discover that I have overcome my greatest fear just by sheer facing it. Somehow fingerprint seemed an exciting topic for the students and adults alike and the joy when they could identify their fingerprint patterns correctly on their own, lit their face up. It felt so magical and gave us immense satisfaction of doing science. We felt like coming down from Varanasi to Hyderabad was all worth it.
Within a few hours, we saw somebody who seemed to be so engaging equally with both children and adults. He seemed to be a live example in the world of science communication and could start his demo anywhere on the field. We had never seen someone so immersed in the subject and trying to convey science in a visualizing way so flawlessly. He carried with him a lot of toys and props (all tied to his belt) through which he was trying to explain simple concepts of science but in a fun way. Nothing is unconventional as long as you are able to put your thoughts out-front and people are able to grasp it and learn from it. Our mentor, Chandana mam then told us he is none other than famous science communicator David Price (From Science Made Simple) and she was lucky to have attended one of his workshops in Edinburgh, UK.
Left to Right – Ms Nandini Chilkam, Dr Chandana Basu, David Price, Ms Pooja Rani and Ms Bhagyashree Choudhury
The second day we were expecting less people because it was Sunday and we all know who really wants to leave their bed on a Sunday morning. But surprisingly, many kids from Day 1 came with their families to our booth and brought their siblings along. People were enthusiastically participating and were curious and asked questions about the science of fingerprints, how they are formed. We never had such an experience till date in our life and now we remembered our mentor’s words about what she meant by taking science out of the labs – to common people. We took breaks in turns because our STEM booth never seemed empty. Our legs were aching but the enthusiasm of the audience just carried us further along.
When we were wrapping up together on our last day one lady in uniform around the corner approached our STEM booth. She was one in the cleaning squad and she said she was watching us for a long time and was quite fascinated by our experiment. She was a bit nervous that’s why she couldn’t approach us earlier so asked me whether she could try to identify her fingerprinting pattern too. Overwhelmed, we immediately said – “Yes, sure why not?”. To our surprise, she did it all by herself and was able to do it and then with beaming joy called her fellow mates and explained how to do the activity in her local language. They all took turns and felt proud of themselves and empowered. While leaving, they asked for the stickers for their kids. For us, it felt like holding on that very moment within our hearts – the joy, the satisfaction, the pride all was evident and it gave true meaning to the science fest that Science is definitely for all, it has no boundaries. It was really hard to believe, and we would be lying if we said we did not feel a tingle in our hearts and we were smiling from within. I guess it was a feeling of accomplishment.
To sum up my experience,
Little did I know, about the path I chosen
Earlier I used to think will it mend me
Or abandon me broken
Things were never meant to be easy
That’s I was told
But it can be carve beautifully, if there is guidance
I started reconnecting my flaws
I realized they are not inescapable
But to embrace them as such
Because I am capable
OUR LEARNINGS FROM OUR FIRST SCIENCE FEST
This was certainly a rewarding experience for both of us. But before we sign off, here are some learnings from our first science fest.
- Be Prepared – Make all your travel arrangements before you start your journey and plan for your trip in as much detail as possible. This is especially useful if the fest takes place in another state and will let you focus you mind in the science fest itself.
- Socialize – One of the main reasons you attend a science fest to meet new people and network. Take the chance talk to as many people as possible.
- Know your stuff or know like a book – If you are there to present your workshop remember that you are the expert and you are more than capable to discuss it with the team. But it never hurts to do some extra reading to clear up any ‘’foggy’’ aspects before you arrive.
- Practice and bring in to play – Practice how to explain the concepts related to the activity. Look for metaphors and make sure you connect across all age levels.
- Paint the town red – You are in a venue full of events. Use this opportunity to stop by, learn new skill, engage in scientific discussions, network and most importantly live the experience of the India Science Festival.
About the authors
Bhagyashree Choudhury, Pooja Rani, Dr Chandana Basu
Centre for Genetic Disorders, BHU
