Encountering Science in America
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences released a report in 2019 that, among other things, highlighted the importance of the social experience in science engagement. One of the top three takeaways of "Encountering Science in America," is the importance of understanding people's underlying motivations for participating in science-centered activities, and we couldn't agree more. This is something that the organizers of live public events seem to just instinctively know: every good event begins and ends with a clear understanding of what people are really looking for when they make the decision to show up. Follow this link to the entire report, and other resources from the American Acadamy's Public Face of Science initiative, and be sure to look for the spotlight on public science events on pages 14 and 15.