Written by EC member, Christina van Midden
Soapbox science is an annual event where women in STEMM careers talk about their research to the general public. The aim of the event is to promote women and non-binary people in science, thereby challenging the gendered stereotype of what scientists are typically perceived as and hopefully to inspire the next generation of assigned-female-at-birth scientists.
I had the privilege of speaking at this year’s event run at Milton Keynes. It is very daunting, as it involves standing on a soapbox and speaking to an audience without any presentation or other familiar props to back up my words. But there also is part of why this event is so fun, because speakers are encouraged to design creative props to help illustrated their work. I’ve attended this event for the past three years and the diversity of props and imagination going into them is simply astonishing. For example, one year an archaeologist had a helper dressed as a dinosaur, another year there was a soil scientist who had crocheted molecules to show that they come in different sizes and how this impacts the activity of soil microorganisms. My prop was a series of illustrations like a children’s book so that kids could lift panels on the page to uncover more of the story, but it very much ended up like a paper version of a powerpoint slide.
The props help to engage with the audience, which I found really helpful in diffusing the scariness of talking. The event was held in a shopping centre and the crowds ebbed and flowed, so before I know it, my talking slot was done! One of the big challenges is adjusting the talk to keep people interested, especially kids with a short attention span! But because of this, it was really rewarding when people did get interested in my research and ask questions. It was also wonderful when one girl said she wanted to be a scientist and was really happy to see all the speakers.
I really enjoyed the experience, from the initial workshops to the final big event of speaking. It was a process where I had a lot of support from a fantastic community of people. I found it a great place to meet researchers from other departments and institutes. As a PhD student I get very focus in my area, so it was a lovely way to step out of the personal research bubble and it also helped to remotivate me, as by that point I had been slogging through my thesis write-up for several months. I am really glad I took part in soapbox science and would recommend it to anyone who wants to share their research in a fun and novel situation, and develop communication skills. If you want to find out more about soapbox science, you can do so here.
