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Research has explored escape rooms for their education potential but there is a notable lack of literature in the public engagement context. This paper illustrates findings from three editions of Back for the Future, a climate-themed STEM escape room delivered both online and in person, with and without COVID-19 restrictions. We demonstrate that escape rooms can engage those who normally do not seek out science in an enjoyable experience that may foster future engagement. Players become immersed in the game environment, losing track of time and can succeed in the activity regardless of their science background. We also propose that self-determination theory, science capital and flow are beneficial concepts for designing games that enhance engagement for a variety of audience groups. Finally, we hope to provide useful and generalisable recommendations for delivering impactful STEM escape rooms in unexpected places (and perhaps with unexpected limitations).

This study investigates the emotional and cognitive responses of Arabic-speaking audiences to informal science communication on YouTube. Focusing on three prominent Arabic YouTube channels that provide science content, @Da7ee7, @NidhalG, and @Espitalia, the study analyzes their communication styles to explore how stylistic differences shape audience engagement and perception. The study classifies the channels into three distinct communicative styles; humorous, academic, and conversational to examine variation in audience responses. Employing computational content analysis, the study applies LDA topic modeling and sentiment analysis to examine emotional and cognitive engagement in user comments. Results show that humorous content is associated with stronger positive emotions and cognitive activation, whereas academic and conversational styles evoke more mixed reactions. Topics like space science and artificial intelligence elicit complex emotions such as confusion and admiration. Addressing a key gap in Arabic-language science communication, the study reveals how style and topic shape public engagement in culturally specific digital spaces.

TikTok has become a popular platform for science communication, particularly among younger audiences, allowing creators to reach broader audiences. However, concerns about the accuracy of science content shared on the platform have emerged, prompting this study to investigate the reliability of informal science communication by popular creators. Informal science communication is the casual sharing of scientific information on platforms like TikTok. The main objective is to assess how well this content adheres to established scientific principles and avoids misinformation. By analysing videos from creators with significant followings, we will evaluate their adherence to scientific accuracy and identify factors that influence it, such as the creators' backgrounds and platform algorithms. The findings will highlight trends in the accuracy of content, with some creators producing reliable information while others risk spreading misinformation. Ultimately, the research will provide recommendations for enhancing the accuracy of science content on TikTok, promoting critical thinking among viewers, and advancing informed science communication on social media.

This article examines grassroots innovation in under-resourced regions of rural India, where science communication emerges through culturally resonant and locally grounded practices in informal settings. Drawing on fieldwork with youth and students in underserved communities, the study foregrounds human ingenuity and participatory engagement that organically co-create context-specific solutions. Challenging linear, expert-driven paradigms, it advances a community-centered framework and highlights the potential of informal contexts — marked by linguistic diversity, trust deficits, and infrastructural limitations — to foster alternative modes of science communication. Informed by Indigenous methodologies and decolonial insights, the research critiques top-down models of knowledge transfer and advocates for inclusive, dialogic, and place-based approaches. Integrating insights from communication, cultural, and design studies, the article positions science communication as an equitable and co-creative process. By centering marginalized voices and alternative epistemologies, it reimagines science engagement as a transformative and empowering practice that connects scientific inquiry to lived experience in unexpected yet vital ways.

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.