Theatre is a privileged medium for expressing and conveying emotions. Emotions play a significant role in audience engagement when communicating to create awareness and knowledge about a given subject. The Marionet Theatre Company has created a series of theatre performances related to health sciences over the past few years, to expand knowledge and reduce the stigma frequently associated with certain diseases. In this report on practice, we present the process of developing the theatre performance Oxymoron, between solstices and equinoxes, exploring bipolar disorder and its consequences. The artistic team devised the performance after a series of interviews with both patients and mental health professionals. In this article, we discuss the process of its creation, identify dramaturgical connections between the performance and the interviews, and examine the emotional engagement it provoked in the audience. We conclude by assessing the effectiveness of theatre in communicating health-related subjects, most particularly by involving the audience emotionally.

This article adopts the perspective of inclusive science communication by approaching the interface between science, technology, intersectionality, and the experience of female Quilombola leaders in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Quilombolas are an ethnic-racial group of Black origins associated with oppression and resistance over the centuries, particularly against slavery during the colonial period. The primary strategy for engaging these women with science was the web series Meios de Prosa (Means of Prose), developed across three seasons. Twelve women, aged between 21 and 73, shared their experiences of early labor, racism, community leadership, and resistance in the context of their access, use, and appropriation of information and communication technologies (ICT).

Promoting inclusion in science is essential for enhancing public understanding, strengthening science literacy, and addressing structural barriers to participation. To support this goal, we organized a science fair in a suburban city near Paris (France), featuring hands-on, inquiry-based activities designed to be accessible and inclusive. The event attracted a diverse audience, including groups underrepresented in science due to gender and socioeconomic background. Participant feedback emphasized the value of active engagement and direct interaction with scientists. Our findings demonstrate that inclusive, community-based outreach can effectively foster interest in science and support broader participation.

Public engagement plays a crucial role in wildlife conservation by bridging scientific and community-driven communication. However, conservation communication often faces conflicts and challenges in stakeholder engagement. This study examines the role of public engagement in establishing Raimona National Park (RNP), focusing on interactions between scientific communication from conservationists and culturally informed communication from local communities. By analyzing survey responses from 340 participants and participatory observations, this research explores how structured public engagement contributes to conflict resolution and long-term park management. The study also highlights the role of NGOs, governance structures, and behavioral change in shaping conservation outcomes in the Raimona landscape.

Universities and funding agencies are increasingly expecting research teams to include initiatives promoting public engagement, which often require public science communication. However, developing science communication skills can be challenging for researchers due to the limited availability of training opportunities. This practice insight documents the experiences of researchers participating in action-learning science communication workshops developed for the VLIR-Teams Active Parks research group in Cuenca, Ecuador. Through learning activities, researchers developed interdisciplinary science communication skills, including self-reflexivity, crafting speeches, and content creation for social media, to effectively communicate their study's outcomes on public park usage to stakeholders and various community audiences. The workshops proved effective in building public engagement skills and developing self-reflexivity, enabling researchers to create impactful, audience-centered initiatives that fostered meaningful connections with the community.

This is the age of exoplanets. Thousands of planets around other suns have been discovered, upending settled science. Unlike spectacular imagery of other phenomena (e.g., nebulae), exoplanets are difficult to `directly' image, and exoplanet scientific imagery is visually limited. This practice insight is a qualitative case study of how artists and scientists at NASA's Exoplanet Travel Bureau co-imagined exoplanets as destinations of the future, with the artists playing an essential role of clarifying and extending scientific thinking. Using textual/visual analysis of how the Bureau's iconic series of exoplanet posters (launched in 2015) invited the public to visit exoplanet landscapes, this practice insight reflects on a recent historical instance of how exoplanets were visually communicated to the public in innovative ways, using overlapping scientific and artistic practices.

Involving school students in authentic research beyond their school learning means creating participatory, out-of-school opportunities related to research processes, giving them a voice in the applied format of science engagement. Important for such endeavours is a group of people we identify as “enablers”. Based on insights from two long-term and large-scale science engagement initiatives in Germany (the Darwin Day science outreach and the Plastic Pirates citizen science program), we identified four principal work tasks of enablers. They are described as (i) aligning the needs, expectations and goals of involved participants, (ii) translating differing conceptions about science into shared visions, (iii) guiding the design of the initiative through educational theory, and (iv) evaluating the success of the out-of-school science engagement initiative. We further suggest that self-awareness of being an enabler, working at the interface of the research and education sphere, is an important prerequisite to successfully collaborate with participants.

This paper presents a practical insight based on the case study of the European Researchers' Night held in the rural village of Armamar, northern Portugal. By moving this initiative beyond traditional academic and urban settings, we helped bridge the gap between science and rural communities, and democratise access to science through a co-creation process, deep-rooted community partnerships, and active student engagement. Drawing from the RERN-Armamar blueprint, we highlight the importance of promoting and/or building from locally established networks of partners, including the school community. Local ambassadors with a diverse range of profiles can act as multipliers, engaging researchers from diverse institutions, teachers, students and their families. Context sensitive formats which promote inclusive, equitable, and sustainable access to science, in addition to the alignment of content with community interests, has further contributed to the success of the action.

This practice insight explores the potential of broadcast television news and current affairs programs for science communication in everyday viewing environments. Using the Japanese news program Shins¯o H¯od¯o Bankisha! as a case study, we assessed its impact on public knowledge of “blue carbon”, a relatively new scientific topic. The program aired on May 28, 2023, reaching an estimated 2.76 million viewers in the Kanto region. A survey revealed that viewers exposed to “blue carbon” through the broadcast showed significant knowledge gains compared to non-viewers, regardless of their interest in science. This included individuals with low scientific interest, a group often excluded by traditional science communication methods. Despite the rise in popularity of digital media formats, broadcast television news and current affairs programs showed their unique ability to disseminate scientific knowledge to diverse audiences, even in today’s multitasking environments. These findings highlight the enduring relevance of television in science communication and its potential to complement digital platforms for broader public engagement.

Micro-patronage provides a new model of funding for research communication. This article uses the Lingthusiasm podcast as a case study to describe how micro-patronage can work and some of the benefits and challenges involved. The authors draw on their own experience of micro-patronage to demonstrate how to create sustainable projects. They also discuss how it sits alongside university funding structures, while also providing a measure of independence from those structures.