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1406 publications found

Feb 11, 2026 Practice Insight

Glaciers as classrooms: designing an outdoor lab as a learning space on ice

by Philipp Spitzer, Jan Höper, Martin Gröger and Volker Heck

This article presents the development of a hybrid educational format that integrates an outdoor glacier laboratory with a virtual learning environment. Grounded in Educational Design Research, the project enables students to investigate glacial and climate-related phenomena through hands-on experiments conducted directly on the glacier, complemented by immersive digital tools. Insights from pilot implementations with school classes informed iterative refinement. The approach illustrates how glacier environments can be transformed into accessible and pedagogically coherent learning spaces, promoting climate literacy and student engagement with real-world environmental change.

Volume 25 • Issue 2 • 2026 • Science communication in Unexpected Places (Unexpected places)

Feb 11, 2026 Practice Insight

Three scientists walk into a bar... Approaching new audiences for informal science communication: the project “Plötzlich Wissen!” (Sudden Knowledge!)

by Julia Schnetzer, André Lampe, Inga Marie Ramcke, Kerstin Kremer and Philipp Schrögel

Sudden Knowledge! (Plötzlich Wissen!), a science communication format established through our own initiative as scientists, implemented science communication in a spontaneous conversational setting. It combined elements of guerilla science/street science, science busking and pub science events. Between 2017 and 2020 the project - centered on marine science - was presented in 16 major German cities. This novel approach, using puppetry and hands-on experiments sparked interest in science and reached non-academic audiences. During the COVID19-pandemic, the format transitioned to online livestreaming on the platform twitch.tv, using video games as entry points for conversations about marine sciences. Between 2020 and 2024 we performed 55 livestreams. Here we outline the development of the format, share evaluation data and our experiences. Our main goal is to provide practical recommendations for scientists who are interested in using informal, guerilla style approaches to reach audiences who might not be reached by traditional science communication strategies.

Volume 25 • Issue 2 • 2026 • Science communication in Unexpected Places (Unexpected places)

Feb 11, 2026 Practice Insight

From the laboratory to the kitchen table? An insight into theory-based game development practices for science communication

by Andreas Siess, Oliver Ruf and Aleksandra Vujadinovic

This practice report aims to outline the idea of science communication as a multidimensional practice that extends beyond the transmission of scientific facts to include the tacit, cultural, and experiential dimensions of science—with a focus on ‘the university’ as an embodiment of the culture of science. Drawing on the idea of ‘kitchen table science communication’, we present a board game designed to foster critical engagement with the implicit norms and structures of academic life among students, their families, and broader publics. Emphasizing science as a complex, adaptive, and culturally situated endeavor, the game serves both as an educational tool and as a medium for participatory meaning-making. Through iterative development and ethnographic testing across diverse academic and informal settings, we explore how playful, narrative-driven formats can open epistemic spaces and promote a more intuitive, affective, and accessible understanding of science. Our findings suggest that games—by embracing abstraction, indeterminacy, and co-creation—offer unique affordances for cultivating science literacy as lived experience rather than codified knowledge.

Volume 25 • Issue 2 • 2026 • Science communication in Unexpected Places (Unexpected places)

Feb 11, 2026 Practice Insight

Exploring science with children from under-represented groups through shared interests: Insights from a decade of practice

by Laura Hobbs, Sarah Behenna, Carly Stevens and Calum Hartley

Through a series of projects dating back to 2015, the Science Hunters programme has delivered eight ‘Minecraft Clubs’ to engage children with Special Educational Needs, care-experienced children, and children in low socioeconomic status areas with science, technology, engineering, and maths. Science concepts are used as themes to build around, rather than the key focus of the activity, which is communal gameplay and having fun. Delivery has been developed through reflective practice, insights from which are drawn upon to extract key takeaways for engaging children with science outside of traditional settings through community-based activities and existing interests. These include drawing on the experiences of those with relevant backgrounds in design and delivery approaches, embedding STEM content rather than making it a primary feature of the activity, seeking and incorporating participants’ input, and having alternative approaches and resources available to facilitate accommodation of different needs and circumstances.

Volume 25 • Issue 2 • 2026 • Science communication in Unexpected Places (Unexpected places)

Feb 11, 2026 Practice Insight

Climate science on the farm: connecting community to research through movement and creative action

by Geoffrey Hunt, Christina Catanese, Jamē McCray and Cassie Meador

Effectively addressing the climate crisis at scale in a timely manner will require novel engagement strategies that move beyond laboratory findings and policy dictates. In this practice insight, we present the Moving Farm Tour, a movement-based, farm- and community-centered exploration of the intersection of art and culture with agriculture and climate change. Through this model, we highlight the use of dance and creative engagement as tangible mechanisms for learning about, sharing, understanding and creating new perspectives. Additionally, we demonstrate the value of not only bringing science (and scientists) out of the lab, but of establishing a visceral, physical connection with place and community. Our collaborative efforts have resulted in a scalable, replicable model that demonstrates how live, interactive experiences are useful for cross-sector learning, broadening perspectives, fostering community building, and inspiring novel approaches to collaboration that can lead to better outcomes for researchers, industries, communities, and the planet.

Volume 25 • Issue 2 • 2026 • Science communication in Unexpected Places (Unexpected places)

Feb 09, 2026 Article

A feeling for the facts: intuitive epistemic identity predicts a non-consensus interpretation of a misleading clean energy meme

by April A. Eichmeier PhD

The purpose of this study is to show how intuitive epistemic beliefs and intuitive epistemic social identity contribute to misperceptions about science. Using a misleading clean energy meme for context, online survey results (U.S. only, N = 192) show that intuitive epistemic beliefs are negatively associated with interpreting the meme in a way that aligns with scientific consensus. This study also shows that social identity contributes to the misinterpretation. Results affirm the importance of science communication that resonates with people who trust their intuition.

Feb 04, 2026 Article

Science News Agencies in science communication: an exploratory index for evaluating and enhancing public interest in mass-distributed press releases

by Monique Batista de Oliveira, Mariana Hafiz, Alice Fleerackers, Luiá Bolonha Nunes and Germana Fernandes Barata

Scientific press releases are reaching the public directly through press reproduction and institutional dissemination. Science News Agencies (SNAs) mediate this process, distributing texts to thousands of journalists while also "leaking" them on their websites and social media. This comparative case study examines four SNAs — BORI, SMC UK, AlphaGalileo, and EurekAlert! — regarding their role in circulating public scientific information. Through literature review, SNA analysis and principles such as openness and inclusion in science, we converted scholars' concerns into a preliminary index potentially capable of assessing SNAs' public suitability. SARP (Social Adequacy Rating for Press Releases) suggests a shift from purely public relations content towards serving the public interest, highlighting areas needing attention in SNAs' social function, to be refined in future research. Clear guidelines, links to open scientific articles, and explicit notices on press releases’ purposes are simple yet effective ways to address issues concerning science public relations' pervasiveness in the public sphere.

Feb 02, 2026 Article

Evidence in the service of dissent: strategic communication of science by German corona-protest movements

by Aidar Zinnatullin, Lukas Fock and Berend Barkela

This study investigates how Germany’s anti-lockdown and anti-vaccine protest movement, led mainly by the Querdenken network, allied with conspiracist and far-right groups, utilized scientific authority while opposing COVID-19 policy. We analyse posts published in 161 public Telegram channels using a computational pipeline that combines named-entity recognition, structural topic modeling, a BERT sentiment classifier, and an open-source large language model, Mixtral. We report that mentions of scientific information surged during periods of heightened policy uncertainty (e.g., national lockdowns and the vaccine-mandate debate), indicating tactical appeals to epistemic authority. References to science were initially scarce rather than hostile, but evolved into a selective, strategic endorsement: protest communities increasingly cherry-picked scientific claims to delegitimize containment measures (foremost, vaccination) while sidelining evidence contradicting their narrative. The findings show that, even among actors who reject official institutions, appeals to scientific language are strategically deployed as a discursive resource.

Jan 28, 2026 Practice Insight

Translating research into play: design insights for evidence-based science games in museum settings

by Lisa Bailey, Daniel Lawrance, Allan James, Sarah Azad, Kristin Alford and Brooke Ferguson

Digital games in museums face the challenge of translating complex scientific concepts into engaging experiences that facilitate both individual learning and peer discussion. This practice insight examines Symbiosville, a touchscreen learning game designed using an event $\rightarrow$ choice $\rightarrow$ consequence pedagogical model to increase visitor understanding of the human microbiome's role in health. Through visitor observations and survey data, this case study demonstrates how evidence-based game mechanics can effectively communicate microbiome science, with players successfully understanding relationships between personal choices and microbiome health. However, the study revealed limitations in encouraging peer-to-peer learning in museum environments, where individual screen-based interactions can inhibit social engagement despite networked game features. The analysis identifies key design considerations for science communication practitioners developing digital learning games for informal settings, including the tension between personalised experiences and collaborative learning.

Jan 26, 2026 Article

Where does affect go? Exploring the (online) sharing of affective nature experiences by ecological citizen scientists

by Helen Verploegen, Noelle Aarts, Irma Arts and Riyan van den Born

Online citizen science platforms for nature observations provide valuable data for nature enthusiasts and scientists, but typically emotions and feelings experienced in nature are not shared there. Through focus groups with users of the Dutch citizen science platform Waarneming.nl, we explored how affective nature experiences are shared. We found that citizen scientists exchange affective experiences through face-to-face conversations or social media and hear about others’ experiences through traditional media. Affects are shared to enthuse others to go into nature, respect or connect more with nature, feel recognized and cope with varying affects experienced in response to environmental loss. Yet, these affects are generally not shared on platforms like Waarneming.nl as these media are associated with knowledge production, science and policy, which users perceive to be in opposition to affect. We reflect on this perceived tension between science and affect, suggesting potential ways to overcome this.