Post doc teaching & research fellow Sarah Wiseman reports on a talk she recently gave at at the Science Museum’s Night Owls event.
The Science Museum Lates are a staple of any London geek’s calendar – once a month the museum opens its doors for an adults-only evening of events. These range from talks and quizzes, to workshops and printmaking, all of which can be as wine-fuelled as you desire. Each month they are packed with eager adults hoping to get a look around the museum without any children hogging all the fun toys.
The museum is now trying out a new idea for an evening event, and this one has a slightly different aim. A sister event to the morning Early Birds scheme, the Science Museum’s Night Owls events run on a Saturday evening after the museum so that families with children with autism can experience the museum in quieter, calmer settings. In the words of the museum, “Night Owls enables young adults who have Autism to come along and enjoy the museum free from the hustle and bustle of the general public.”
This November I was asked to give an in-depth talk on a topic relating to engineering, physics or maths. I wanted to talk about something I’m excited and passionate about, so naturally I chose to talk about the design of the telephone keypad. This is not only a topic that I myself find fascinating, but it’s a great introduction to the concept of Human Factors Engineering.
Arriving on Saturday evening before the event opened was eerie – I’d never seen the museum so quiet. I had to resist the urge to pretend I was the only one there and go exploring.
I gave two talks through the evening to small groups of people. The small groups meant I felt like I was having a chat with everyone there rather than giving a presentation. It also made the audience participation parts a bit easier for me – it’s far easier to pick on people when you’ve been chatting to them just a moment earlier.
The audiences were enthusiastic and chatty, with plenty of questions for me both during and after the talks. I have to say that this was refreshing, as the room can sometimes be a bit quiet when talking to students this age. But this audience had plenty to ask to me; some even went so far as to suggest new interfaces that could be designed in the future. There was also some post-talk career advice to one eager student, as I explained my experience of moving from my undergraduate to my PhD to my current post doc.
The evening was really fun for me. I love talking about things I’m excited by – and to get an enthusiastic reception makes it all the better. I had a great time talking to the young adults who came along, as well as their friends and family. This was the first of the Night Owls events, and I could see that everyone who came along really appreciated the evening. I only hope this isn’t the last!
Sarah Wiseman is a post doc teaching and research fellow working on Human Computer Interaction at Goldsmiths Computing. Her interests lie in understanding more about number entry and errors, and investigating the use of haptic technologies to improve cultural experiences for people with visual impairments. She has also begun exploring citizen science, and how that might be a useful tool when recruiting for HCI experiments.
She really enjoys talking about research, and has done stand-up comedy based on it. She likes engaging people with science and other interesting ideas. Her other passion is making things – working with arduinos, sifteo cubes and general crafts.