Current research projects
- Exploring the co-construction of science & society in popular culture (or PopSci):
In this project I’m trying to explore & value a wider range of ways that people ‘do’ science and engage with science than we usually see in policy or research. I’m interviewing people in three main groups, a ‘citizen science/everyday science’ group, a ‘museums’ group and a ‘media’ group. Please email me at emily(dot)dawson(at)ucl(dot)ac(dot)uk if you think you or someone you know would like to be interviewed!
Amongst other things, for this project I’m interested in:
- how structural inequalities are enmeshed with science & popular culture
- how ‘popular’ or ‘everyday’ culture activities around science can support minoritized groups
- what ‘counts’ as science in popular culture
2. Youth Equity + Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (YESTEM) project website
Shareable YESTEM tools to support equity & social justice work for science learning & engagement
The YESTEM project group (Hanwell Zoo, Knowle West Media Centre, We The Curious & Stemettes and UCL in the UK, The Boys & Girls Club Lansing, Impression Five, Michigan State University in the US) have put all our FREE resources up on the website for you to download as many times as you like.
We made a FREE online UCL Future Learn course about how to use the equity compass. You can use it on your own for CPD or use it as part of ongoing training for trustees, volunteers and staff across informal learning sites, from zoos to museums to science festivals.
You can also watch our Equity Compass animation & download a short explanation.
More information about the UK part of the YESTEM UK project on the IOE UCL project website.
3. For older projects I’ve worked on please see my UCL pages. I sometimes do smaller pieces of research, but the bigger ones include:
- Equity Pathways (the pilot for YESTEM)
- Enterprising Science (a 5 year practice-research collaboration between King’s College London and the Science Museum)
- The review of Science Education in the UK (a UK review of informal science learning activities)
- My PhD (exploring public engagement with science from the perspective of minoritised community groups in South East London)
- Talking Robots (public engagement with robotics in the UK)
- It’s My Baby (youth & genetics)
emily dawson 