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Einstein’s  Garden  Society  Award:  Individual  Project  Reports  2015    

Sandscape    

Amy  Seakins  (December  2015)    

   

Executive  summary    Sandscape  was  a  sand  sculpture  workshop  exploring  how  air  moves  through  different  environments  and  the  impact  of  air  quality  on  human  health.  The  project  was  produced  by  Einstein’s  Garden  in  partnership  with  the  University  of  Exeter  and  the  Met  Office.  Collaborators  included  Met  Office  scientists,  University  of  Exeter  scientists  and  sand  sculptors  from  Sand  In  Your  Eye.  The  project  was  piloted  in  Einstein’s  Garden  at  the  Green  Man  Festival  2015.  In  the  festival  programme  Sandscape  was  described  as  follows:    

Join  scientists  and  sand  sculptors  to  build  a  sand  landscape  complete  with  mountains,  valleys,  skyscrapers  and  power  stations.  How  does  the  air  that  we  breathe  move  around  these  spaces?  And  what  are  the  invisible  invaders  in  the  air  that  can  affect  our  health?  

 The  audience  responded  very  positively  to  the  activity  -­‐  many  were  observed  to  enjoy  building  the  sculptures  and  commented  that  they  had  fun  participating.  All  audience  members  interviewed  said  that  they  would  recommend  the  activity  to  others  and  would  participate  again.      The  activity  facilitated  group  and  family  interaction,  and  worked  well  when  both  children  and  adults  took  part  together.  Visitors  learned  about  science  as  part  of  their  experiences,  and  broadened  their  ideas  about  the  roles  of  the  Met  Office.      Despite  initial  concerns  about  engaging  with  the  audience  and  pitching  information  at  an  accessible  level,  the  collaborators  found  interactions  enjoyable,  the  audience  easy  to  talk  to,  and  gaining  feedback  and  seeing  impacts  on  the  audience  the  most  rewarding  part  of  the  experience.      The  weather  and  simultaneously  building  the  sand  sculptures  and  discussing  science  were  the  most  challenging  aspects  of  the  activity  as  mentioned  by  collaborators.      

 

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Collaborators  felt  that  the  project  had  impacted  their  everyday  work  in  their  ideas  about  communication,  collaboration,  and  potential  research  directions.  They  reported  positive  gains  in  skills  and  confidence  in  public  engagement,  and  learning  about  science  and  art  collaborations.      

     Methods      Online  surveys  were  conducted  with  collaborators  before  and  after  the  event,  exploring  their  expectations  and  reflections  on  their  involvement.  Eight  collaborators  completed  the  pre-­‐event  survey,  and  seven  completed  the  post-­‐event  survey.    Observations  were  conducted  at  the  Green  Man  festival  focusing  on  each  of  the  individual  projects.  Five  observations  were  completed  focusing  on  Sandscape,  totalling  77  minutes.      Short  vox  pop  interviews  were  conducted  with  visitors  at  the  festival  to  explore  their  experiences  and  perceptions  of  the  activities.  Six  visitor  vox  pop  interviews  were  conducted  with  visitors  to  the  Sandscape  activity,  involving  two  adult  males,  one  young  adult  male,  two  young  adult  females,  two  male  children,  and  three  female  children.      Vox  pops  were  also  conducted  with  collaborators  at  the  festival,  investigating  how  they  were  finding  delivering  the  activities.  Three  collaborator  vox  pop  interviews  were  conducted.        Findings    

 1. Sample  

 Of  those  collaborators  taking  part  in  the  pre-­‐event  survey,  six  were  scientists  and  two  were  artists/engagement  collaborators.  Of  those  taking  part  in  the  post-­‐event  survey,  five  were  scientists  and  two  were  artists/engagement  collaborators.            

 

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2. Collaborators’  existing  experiences  of  public  engagement    For  four  collaborators  this  was  their  first  time  being  involved  in  a  public  engagement  project  of  this  nature;  four  had  been  involved  in  similar  projects  before.  Of  those  involved  in  similar  events  before,  activities  included  science  stands  at  festivals,  citizen  science,  outreach  activities  at  schools  and  science  camps.  For  some  of  the  arts  collaborators  it  was  their  first  time  using  creative  methods  for  science  content  and  for  some  of  the  scientists  it  was  their  first  time  using  creative  methods  involving  sand  sculpture.        In  terms  of  what  motivated  collaborators  to  get  involved,  three  said  that  the  project  sounded  interesting  and  they  were  looking  to  share  their  work:  I'm  always  interested  in  getting  involved  with  new  and  different  things  and  sharing  my  work  with  others.  Three  other  collaborators  said  that  they  were  looking  forward  to  the  creative  aspect  of  the  project  and  two  said  that  they  had  previously  been  involved  in  Einstein’s  Garden  and  were  looking  to  build  on  this  experience:  Approached  by  Ellen  to  get  involved  in  special  project  after  having  had  a  stall  at  GM  over  the  last  couple  of  years.  Sounded  a  great  way  to  expand  our  offering  at  the  Green  Man,  try  something  very  different  in  a  safe  environment  and  work  with  new  artists  to  create  something  that  we  can  go  on  to  use  in  the  future.    

3. Collaborators  perceptions  before  the  festival    Before  the  festival,  three  collaborators  said  that  they  had  no  concerns  and  that  there  had  been  good  communication  in  the  project  organisation  so  far.  Five  collaborators  said  that  they  were  concerned  about  pitching  the  information  at  the  right  level  for  the  audience,  and  ‘finding  the  right  stories  to  tell’.  Three  collaborators  indicated  a  lack  of  confidence  with  engaging  with  the  public,  for  example:  I  guess  I'm  not  really  sure  what  to  expect  and  it's  likely  to  be  outside  of  my  comfort  zone,  but  that's  part  of  the  reason  why  I'm  doing  it  in  the  first  place.  One  collaborator  was  concerned  about  being  challenged  on  the  subject  of  climate  change,  and  another  about  the  weather.  One  collaborator  was  concerned  about  how  much  there  was  to  do  and  preparation  time,  and  another  had  concerns  about  the  buy-­‐in  from  the  scientists  involved.      In  terms  of  what  collaborators  were  looking  forward  to  about  delivering  the  project  at  the  festival,  six  collaborators  were  looking  forward  to  working  with  the  audience  and  seeing  their  reactions  to  the  activity.  For  example:  Getting  to  engage  with  people  and  help  them  see  how  interesting  this  stuff  can  be!  Another  two  collaborators  were  looking  forward  to  seeing  the  sculpture  itself  take  shape,  and  one  of  the  arts  collaborators  was  looking  forward  to  working  with  science  researchers.      Collaborators  were  aiming  for  a  range  of  outcomes  as  a  result  of  their  involvement  in  the  project.  Three  collaborators  were  looking  collaboration  and  partnerships  with  other  science  and  arts  collaborators:  Collaboration  is  a  very  special  thing  as  you  get  the  rare  opportunity  of  working  with  experts.    We  will  hopefully  deliver  an  experience  for  participants  that  is  very  unique  and  also  share  or  skills  and  knowledge  amongst  the  facilitators.  Three  collaborators  were  aiming  to  increase  their  confidence  in  and  ideas  for  public  engagement.  And  two  collaborators  wanted  to  get  fun  and  enjoyment  from  the  experience:  I  think  it  will  be  a  really  enjoyable  and  rewarding  experience  being  able  to  talk  to  people  about  what  we  do  in  such  an  engaging  way.    Collaborators  were  asked  whether  they  felt  that  the  ideas  had  been  carried  through  from  the  ideas  generation  workshop  to  the  festival;  of  the  six  collaborators  answering  this  question,  four  said  that  they  felt  the  ideas  were  carried  through  from  the  workshop  to  the  festival.  For  example:  Yes,  I  think  our  general  idea  of  having  conversations  around  dispersion  modelling,  urban  meteorology,  pollen  forecasting,  air  quality  etc  came  through  well.  One  collaborator  wrote  that  the  team  learnt  and  improved  the  ideas  throughout  the  sessions  and  festival  and  this  process  will  continue  in  redelivery,  and  another  said  that  they  did  not  understand  the  question.          

 

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4. Collaborators’  perceptions  following  the  festival    Collaborators  were  asked  about  their  perceptions  of  the  overall  experience  of  delivering  the  project  at  the  festival.  Four  rated  this  as  very  positive,  and  three  as  positive.  When  commenting  on  their  ratings,  collaborators  mentioned  the  enthusiasm  and  energy  of  the  audience  (4):  It  was  really  easy  to  start  talking  to  both  the  adults  and  the  children  about  the  science  behind  it  all  while  we  were  doing  the  activity  and  there  was  some  real  enthusiasm  towards  both  aspects.  Other  collaborators  mentioned  that  the  creativity  of  the  project  was  good,  and  the  collaboration  between  artists  and  scientists  important  in  this  (4):  As  a  scientist  who  is  normally  stuck  indoors  at  a  computer  it  was  great  to  be  outdoors,  doing  something  creative.      Collaborators  were  asked  about  the  most  rewarding  aspect  of  the  experience.  Three  collaborators  said  that  they  found  the  feedback  from  audiences  most  rewarding,  for  example:  Hearing  all  the  great  feedback  from  kids  and  their  parents.  "That's  the  coolest  thing  I've  ever  seen"  was  my  favourite  comment.  Three  collaborators  said  that  being  involved  in  a  new  and  innovative  public  engagement  activity  was  the  most  rewarding  thing.  And  two  collaborators  felt  that  it  was  most  rewarding  to  see  how  the  activity  impacted  on  the  audiences  involved,  for  example  through  the  development  of  skills  or  interest:  Seeing  how  many  people  genuinely  found  the  science  we  do  interesting  and  wanted  to  find  out  more.  And  overhearing  things  like  "I  love  science!"  afterwards.    In  the  vox  pop  interviews  collaborators  also  mentioned  how  seeing  the  audience  learn  and  be  inspired  by  the  event  was  the  most  rewarding  aspect.  For  example,  one  collaborator  said  their  highlight  was:  I  think  it  was  a  little  girl  saying  how  much  she’d  enjoyed  taking  part  in  Sandscape  and  how  much  she’d  discovered  about  what  the  Met  Office  does  and  how  important  trees  are  to  our  environment  and  then  going  on  and  saying  she  was  going  to  tell  all  of  her  school  friends  about  what  she’d  discovered  here  at  the  festival  so  I  think  that  was  absolutely  fantastic.    Collaborators  were  also  asked  about  the  most  challenging  aspect  of  the  experience.  Three  collaborators  mentioned  struggling  with  the  wet  weather,  and  this  was  also  echoed  in  one  of  the  vox  pops.  Two  collaborators  felt  that  building  the  sand  sculpture  and  having  a  conversation  at  the  same  time  was  most  challenging:  Blending  science  conversations  during  the  sand-­‐sculpting  activity,  and  engaging  with  the  public  in  an  accurate  yet  understandable  way.  Other  collaborators  mentioned  that  getting  buy-­‐in  from  some  collaborating  institutions  was  challenging  and  another  spoke  about  the  need  to  be  flexible  when  they  began  delivering  the  activity  as  they  were  not  sure  what  would  work.  Finally  one  collaborator  mentioned  that  the  pack-­‐down  had  been  challenging.      One  collaborator  explained  that  they  felt  there  had  been  no  challenge  limiting  the  event  at  the  festival:  There  had  been  a  lot  of  planning  from  all  parties  so  there  were  no  great  difficulties  I  feel.    The  challenge  was  to  help  the  scientists  engage  with  the  public  and  feel  confident  enough  to  run  the  event  themselves.    I  think  they  can  do  that.      

5. Impacts  on  collaborators      Collaborators  were  asked  whether  their  experience  with  the  project  had  impacts  on  their  ideas  about  public  engagement  with  science.  Three  collaborators  said  that  rather  than  gaining  new  ideas  their  perceptions  and  understandings  had  been  confirmed  and  strengthened:  Not  changed,  just  strengthened  the  idea  that  being  playful  is  a  great  way  of  engaging  non-­‐traditional  audiences.    Two  collaborators  said  that  their  experiences  had  provided  new  ideas  about  public  engagement  –  in  that  it  can  be  playful,  perhaps  harder  than  they  first  thought  but  also  that  it  could  work  so  well:  I  think  I've  discovered  that  science  engagement  can  be  much  more  playful  and  it  doesn't  necessarily  need  to  be  about  structured  experiments/demonstrations.    Collaborators  commented  on  whether  their  experience  had  led  them  to  consider  their  everyday  work  in  a  new  way.  Three  collaborators  said  that  it  had  led  them  to  think  differently  about  communication  and  

 

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engagement,  and  would  be  more  likely  to  be  involved.  For  example:  Yes,  I  will  try  to  use  some  interactive  way  to  communicate  my  research.  For  one  individual  the  project  made  them  think  more  about  future  collaborations:  Yes.    It  would  be  very  nice  to  do  collaborative  projects  in  the  future  and  also  to  help  train  organisations.  And  for  one  collaborator  the  experience  raised  new  ideas  for  research  directions:  I  had  a  conversation  with  a  lady  about  migraines  induced  by  changing  air  pressure  and  forecasts  of  this  are  available  in  Poland  where  she  came  from.  This  is  probably  something  we  should  look  into.  One  collaborator  said  that  the  experience  had  more  reinforced  their  ideas  rather  than  changed  them.      When  asked  about  other  impacts,  collaborators  rated  their  experiences  on  a  scale  of  1  (not  at  all)  to  10  (totally  changed).  Impacts  were  positive  in  nature.      The  average  rating  for  learning  about  art  and/or  science  was  7.  An  example  of  a  collaborator  comment:  It's  made  me  realise  how  well  the  two  can  work  together.  I  knew  they  would  work,  but  I'd  no  idea  it  could  work  quite  so  well!  One  arts  collaborator  mentioned  in  the  vox  pop  interviews  that  they  had  refreshed  their  environmental  science  learning  from  their  degree  10-­‐15  years  ago  through  their  involvement  in  the  project.  A  further  collaborator  also  mentioned  in  the  vox  pops  that  they  had  learned  about  the  science  research  which  their  colleagues  conduct  as  a  result  of  being  involved  in  the  project.      Learning  about  the  benefits  of  collaboration  between  art  and  science  was  also  mentioned  in  all  three  collaborator  vox  pops.  For  example,  one  collaborator  said:  I  wasn’t  sure  how  it  would  go,  you  know  we’ve  never  been  involved  with  sand  sculpture  before  so  we  were  quite  intrigued  as  to  how  it  would  go  and  I  think  the  collaboration  between  us  and  the  artists  has  been  fantastic.    The  average  rating  for  skills  in  public  engagement  was  7.7.  One  collaborator  explained  their  rating:  I  had  no  previous  experience  in  public  engagement,  improved  communication  skills    The  average  rating  for  impacts  on  confidence  in  public  engagement  was  7.  Collaborators  commented,  for  example:  I  think  we  all  helped  to  boost  each  other’s  confidence.        Increased  confidence  in  public  engagement  with  science  was  something  mentioned  by  all  three  collaborators  participating  in  the  vox  pop  interviews.  Both  science  and  arts  collaborators  felt  that  the  scientists  in  particular  had  grown  in  confidence  in  delivering  the  activity,  and  would  be  able  and  keen  to  deliver  it  in  other  contexts:  I  definitely  feel  confident  that  I  can  deliver  this  event  again  alongside  the  other  scientists  who  have  been  here  this  festival  and  I  think  they’re  all  quite  confident  of  going  into  future  events  and  getting  into  a  sandpit  and  doing  lots  of  sculpting.    Collaborators  were  asked  ‘Before  taking  part  in  this  project  how  involved  would  you  have  considered  yourself  in  public  engagement  with  science  (e.g.  do  you  participate  in  many  events  and  activities?)  (1-­‐10  scale,  1  –  not  engaged  at  all,  10  extremely  engaged)’  and  they  responded  with  an  average  rating  of  4.4,  indicating  that  they  were  not  greatly  experienced  in  the  area.  For  some  collaborators  it  was  their  first  experience  in  public  engagement:  I  did  not  have  the  opportunity  of  taking  part  in  any  outreach  activity.    When  asked  whether  their  experience  had  made  them  more  or  less  likely  to  be  involved  in  similar  public  engagement  events  in  future  (1-­‐  much  less  likely,  5  –  much  more  likely),  the  average  rating  was  4.6,  suggesting  that  collaborators  had  been  positively  affected  in  terms  of  their  motivation  in  public  engagement.  One  collaborator  explained  their  ‘5  –  much  more  likely’  rating:  The  proof  is  in  the  pudding.    It  worked  very  well  and  was  very  rewarding.      

6. Audience  interactions  and  behaviours      Observations  provided  a  snapshot  of  audience  behaviours  whilst  participating  in  the  activity.  Five  observations  were  conducted,  of  86  visitors  in  total,  and  on  average  each  observation  was  15  minutes.  Visitors  were  observed  to  be  engaging  in  the  sandscape  building  (in  three  observations)  and  seemed  to  be  

 

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absorbed  in  the  activity.  This  activity  was  especially  interesting  for  the  children:  Kids  both  coming  up  with  ideas  of  what  to  make  and  actually  making.  In  fact,  the  children  were  restless  to  play  with  the  sand  during  the  introduction  and  when  watching  from  the  outside  (e.g.  when  the  workshop  was  full).  In  three  observations  the  sculptors  were  seen  to  be  demonstrating  how  to  build  the  structures,  and  one  parent  was  overheard  repeating  these  instructions  to  their  child.  In  one  observation  a  Sandscape  facilitator  was  heard  explaining  the  science  to  a  visitor.      Five  visitors  also  mentioned  building  the  sandscape  as  something  they  enjoyed.  For  example:  We  all  got  stuck  in,  my  son  loves  the  drizzling  of  the  sand  to  make  the  towers  and  the  trees  and  things  like  that  so  he  certainly  got  a  lot  from  that  but  the  way  of  actually  making  sculptures  by  patting  down  the  wet  sand  and  carving  it  out  we  got  a  lot  from  that.      Other  observed  behaviours  included  visitors  and  Sandscape  facilitators  working  as  a  team  in  constructing  the  sculptures,  and  visitors  speaking  to  the  scientists.  One  visitor  mentioned  these  interactions  in  their  vox  pop  interview:    Very,  very  knowledgeable  scientists  from  the  Met  Office  and  the  team  doing  the  sculpture  workshop  explaining  some  of  their  job  and  the  kind  of  things  you’ll  need  to  know  about  meteorology  and  the  weather  and  how  it’s  going  to  affect  pollution  and  urban  planning  as  well.    Audience  members  were  asked  in  vox  pops  whether  the  venue  and  context  of  a  music  festival  was  suited  to  the  activity.  Two  visitors  felt  that  it  was  a  good  venue  and  approach  for  this  kind  of  activity:  Good  way  of  mixing  fun  and  science,  not  too  boring  but  you  still  learn  stuff.  Two  visitors  said  that  they  had  not  been  expecting  to  find  an  activity  like  sandscape  at  the  festival.  One  said  that  the  activity  was  not  unexpected:  I’ve  been  to  the  Green  Man  before  so  in  a  way  I  would  expect  it  because  I’ve  been  to  some  of  their  science  stuff  before  and  things  on  colour  and  sound  so  I  have  always  been  inspired  by  what  they’ve  done.    

7. Impacts  on  the  audience    Collaborators  were  asked  how  they  felt  the  audience  had  responded  to  the  project,  and  if  there  were  things  which  they  felt  had  worked  particularly  well.  Four  collaborators  mentioned  the  dry  ice  and  bubbles  as  something  which  engaged  the  audience:  The  dry  ice  worked  particularly  well  as  a  visual  aid  to  dispersion/pollution  modelling.  These  elements  were  also  observed  to  be  engaging  the  audience  well  in  two  of  the  interactions.  Group  interaction,  particularly  between  older  and  younger  members  of  families  also  was  said  to  work  well:  Worked  best  when  family  groups  engaged  together.  Two  collaborators  mentioned  that  they  felt  that  the  audience  responded  better  to  the  activity  towards  the  end  of  the  festival  because  they  were  constantly  making  tweaks  and  improvements  as  they  went:  Very  well  especially  in  the  later  days  as  we  refined  the  workshop.  One  collaborator  also  felt  that  the  audience  responded  well  to  meeting  the  scientists.      Five  visitors  said  when  interviewed  that  they  had  learned  something  as  part  of  the  project.  For  example:  That  most  people  who  have  hayfever  are  allergic  to  grass  pollen  not  tree  pollen.  Two  visitors  mentioned  that  the  activity  had  shown  them  that  learning  can  be  fun.  For  example,  this  child  who  compared  it  to  school:  At  school  they  don’t  do  stuff  like  this  they’re  just  like  ‘this  is  how  rain  works'.  One  visitor  spoke  about  learning  new  techniques  for  their  job  through  the  activity:  I’m  an  art  teacher  and  I  got  a  lot  from  that  as  well  so  I’ve  got  some  good  techniques  to  take  back  to  my  children  as  well.    Three  visitors  said  that  their  participation  in  the  activity  had  enabled  them  to  learn  something  new  about  the  Met  Office  and  their  work.  Whilst  most  people  had  heard  about  the  Met  Office  and  knew  of  their  role  in  weather  forecasting,  through  the  project  they  also  learned  about  other  work  the  Met  Office  are  involved  in,  for  example  their  involvement  in  pollen  forecasting.  This  visitor  explained  in  their  vox  pop  interview  how  the  project  had  changed  their  ideas:  We  use  the  Met  Office  website  quite  a  lot,  we  use  it  every  day  to  find  out  what’s  going  on,  so  I  guess  it’s  broadened  a  little  bit  what  I  know  about  what  the  Met  Office  do  and  it’s  so  nice  that  they  do  outreach  stuff  to  really  get  the  children  engaged  with  things  like  pollution  and  air  pollution  and  just  understanding  the  weather  and  how  it  affects  all  of  our  lives.  

 

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Visitors  were  visibly  proud  when  constructing  the  sandscape  and  discussing  the  ideas.  Two  children  were  observed  to  be  proud  of  the  sculptures  they  had  made,  and  the  following  interaction  was  observed  in  the  concluding  discussion  in  one  workshop:  When  the  researcher  described  the  city,  he  did  say  that  one  child  had  said  there  should  be  a  river,  the  boy  was  very  proud.    When  asked  what  the  audience  did  not  find  as  engaging,  two  collaborators  mentioned  that  it  was  more  difficult  to  engage  the  audience  when  it  was  a  group  of  children  only  –  it  worked  better  when  adults  were  also  involved:  It  was  very  hard  to  have  conversations  when  kids  were  left  on  their  own.  Families  that  were  engaged  together  worked  much  better.  Other  challenging  factors  which  may  have  led  to  the  audience  not  engaging  as  well  included  being  heard  over  noise  from  other  stalls  and  having  too  many  people  participate  at  once  (mentioned  by  one  collaborator  each).  The  observations  also  mentioned  the  difficulty  in  hearing  discussions  over  the  music.  One  collaborator  also  questioned  whether  the  flags  and  leaves  activity  engaged  the  audience  as  well  as  other  aspects.      Visitors  in  all  six  vox  pops  that  they  would  recommend  the  activity  to  others  and  would  participate  again.  For  example,  this  visitor  explains  what  they  will  say  to  their  friends  when  recommending  the  project:  I  would  say  we  did  this  really  cool  workshop  where  we  played  with  sand  and  made  sculptures  and  learnt  about  stuff.    

8. Improvements  and  suggestions    In  the  observations,  a  key  issue  which  might  be  improved  was  the  background  noise  from  the  main  stage  which  made  it  difficult  to  hear.  One  collaborator  also  mentioned  this:  The  only  problem  we  had  with  the  Sandscape  is  that  it  was  quite  near  the  main  stage  and  so  sometimes  when  we  were  trying  to  talk  to  the  whole  group  it  was  a  bit  loud.  We  managed  but  it  might  have  been  easier  if  we  were  in  a  quieter  part.    Collaborators  suggested  that  a  larger  sand  pit  area  would  make  things  easier  and  more  people  would  be  able  to  participate,  more  promotion  so  that  people  knew  about  the  workshops  and  also  longer  sessions  would  enable  more  interaction.      The  observations  suggested  that  although  the  activity  was  very  engaging  for  families,  and  many  gained  enjoyment  and  a  sense  of  pride  and  achievement  through  participating,  there  was  room  for  more  discussion  about  science.  Collaborators  said  that  it  was  challenging  to  build  the  sandscape  and  discuss  about  the  science  at  the  same  time.  Therefore,  this  may  be  an  area  in  which  to  investigate  improvements  for  redelivery.      One  collaborator  had  no  suggestions  for  improvement  and  was  very  positive  about  the  project  and  redelivery:  Incredibly  pleased  with  how  it  all  went  -­‐  fantastic  feedback  from  the  volunteers.  Looking  forward  to  redelivery.    

   

 

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Einstein’s  Garden  Society  Award:  Individual  Project  Redelivery  Reports  2016    

Sandscape  Redelivery  Report    

Karen  Smith  (December  2016)      

       

Summary    Sandscape  was  a  sand  sculpture  workshop  exploring  how  air  moves  through  different  environments  and  the  impact  of  air  quality  on  human  health.  The  project  was  produced  by  Einstein’s  Garden  in  partnership  with  the  University  of  Exeter  and  the  Met  Office.  Collaborators  included  Met  Office  scientists,  University  of  Exeter  scientists  and  sand  sculptors  from  Sand  In  Your  Eye.  The  project  was  piloted  in  Einstein’s  Garden  at  the  Green  Man  Festival  2015,  and  redelivered  at  Arts  by  the  Sea  festival,  Bournemouth  Beach  on  

Saturday  10  &  Sunday  11  October  2016.  Sandscape  was  described  as:    

 Join  scientists  and  sand  sculptors  to  build  a  sand  landscape  complete  with  mountains,  valleys,  skyscrapers  and  power  stations.  How  does  the  air  that  we  breathe  move  around  these  spaces?  And  what  are  the  invisible  invaders  in  the  air  that  can  affect  our  health?  

 

 

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Participants  crafted  a  wealth  of  sand  buildings  including  trees,  factories  and  sports  stadiums  and  responded  strongly  positively  to  Sandscape.  Many  were  observed  to  enjoy  building  the  sculptures  and  effusively  commented  that  they  enjoyed  participating.  Almost  half  of  those  participating  said  they  were  now  a  lot  more  interested  in  science  as  a  result  of  the  activity.    

 

The  redelivery  achieved  a  level  of  sustained  interaction  with  a  plethora  of  people  from  all  age  ranges.  It  was  observed  that  the  audience  was  predominantly  families  with  children  between  five  and  12  years  old,  plus  some  groups  of  young  adults.  Following  on  from  learning  at  Green  Man  Festival,  there  was  consideration  of  how  to  meet  the  challenge  to  ensure  people  engaged  with  the  science  topics  and  conversations  alongside  the  fun  of  the  sand  sculpture.  A  pre-­‐workshop  briefing  with  prompts  for  thinking  enhanced  facilitators  ability  to  prompt  and  discuss  the  science  behind  the  fun  of  the  sand  building  and  achieved  a  level  of  deeper  understanding  and  engagement  with  science  for  participants.      

 The  activity  facilitated  group  and  family  interaction,  and  worked  well  when  both  children  and  adults  took  part  together.  Visitors  learned  about  science  as  part  of  their  experiences,  and  discovered  both  new  ideas  and  broadened  their  ideas  about  the  roles  of  the  Met  Office.    

   Methods      Nine  Observations  were  conducted  at  Arts  by  the  Sea  focusing  on  Sandscape.  190  people  were  observed  during  the  two  days.    

 

Observations  focused  on  capturing  a  record  of  audience  behaviours  during  participation  in  activities,  interactions  between  audience  members  and  staff,  and  evidence  of  impacts  on  audiences.  In  particular,  to  explore  how  Sandscape  worked  beyond  the  Einstein’s  Garden.    

 

Standardised  comment  cards  were  distributed  during  Sandscape  at  Arts  by  the  Sea  to  explore  how  Sandscape  worked  beyond  the  Einstein’s  Garden  context.  Comment  cards  were  integrated  into  the  activities  and  36  comment  cards  were  collected.  Questions  on  comment  cards  included  asking  visitors  to  rate  their  enjoyment;  how  the  event  had  impacted  on  their  interest  in  the  subject;  and  impact  on  motivation  to  participate  in  further  events.  

 

The  Creative  Producer  created  a  written  reflection  on  the  experience  of  Arts  by  the  Sea.  

   Findings    

 9. Sample  

 

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 Observations  provided  a  snapshot  of  audience  behaviours  whilst  participating  in  Sandscape  and  the  different  approaches  of  staff  working  on  the  project.  Nine  observations  were  conducted  of  190  visitors  in  total.    Three  of  the  nine  observations  were  timed  and  six  had  no  end  time.  Observations  that  were  timed  ranged  between  15  minutes  to  one  hour  in  length.      

 

10. Audience  interactions  and  behaviours      Following  on  from  Sandscape  activity  at  Green  Man  Festival,  the  ongoing  challenge  to  ensure  people  engaged  with  the  science  topics  and  conversations  alongside  the  fun  of  the  sand  sculpture  continued.  Tweaks  to  the  workshop  were  made  to  address  this  as  the  activity  evolved.    Examples  of  changes  included  some  key  questions  in  the  pre-­‐workshop  briefing  for  participants  to  think  about:  

• What  are  the  invisible  things  in  the  air  that  can  affect  our  health?  • What  makes  a  healthy  city?  

And  by  adding  a  sand  sculpture  magnifying  glass  with  sculpted  pollen  grains  and  pollution  particles  inside.  

 In  all  nine  of  the  observations  visitors  were  observed  to  be  actively  engaging  in  the  sandscape  building  and  seemed  to  be  absorbed  in  the  activity,  for  example,  observations  note  ‘engrossed  activity’  and  ‘concentration’.  A  secondary  audience  of  people  spectating  the  workshop  was  often  observed  to  have  gathered.  Three  examples  of  observation  descriptions  chime  with  all  nine  observations:      

 

• ‘lots  of  concentration,  working  one  on  one  or  in  pairs  with  facilitators,  attentive  to  the  guidance  of  facilitators.  Quiet  voices  not  visibly  over  excited,  but  sustaining  concentration.’    

• ‘Parents  and  kids  getting  stuck  in.  Young  adults  take  longer  to  start  sculpting,  stand  around  watching  but  then  crouch  down,  start  moving  buckets.  Everyone  focussed  and  engaged.’  

• ‘Adult  male  listening  intently  to  scientist’.    

All  observations  note  large  workshop  numbers  and  a  wide  variety  of  population  demographics,  with  a  plethora  of  age  groups,  family  groups  and  adults.  In  a  few  of  the  observations,  some  people  are  observed  to  be  stood  back,  but  with  most  actively  participating,  busy,  attentive  and  partaking  in  animated  discussion,  for  example  one  observation  notes:    

 

‘Early  in  workshop,  after  introduction.  Busy  workshop  but  not  overfull.  Most  parents  participating  alongside  kids  –  guiding  them  or  building  their  own.  One  mother  sitting  back,  spectating  rather  than  participating.  One  facilitator  working  with  group  of  4  kids  –  doing  well  at  guiding  them  with  their  sculpting  technique,  encouraging  but  keeping  them  focussed.’  

 

Observed  behaviours  included  visitors  and  Sandscape  facilitators  working  as  a  team  in  constructing  the  sculptures,  and  mutual  discussion  between  visitors  and  scientists.  For  example:    

 

 

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‘5  x  young  adults,  7  children,  7  adults  (of  which  1  male).  Mid-­‐way  through  workshop.  Children  quite  animated,  excited  by  building  and  not  timid.  Parents  taking  photos  of  kids  participating.  About  16  people  spectating  workshop  –  mixture  of  families,  couples,  elderly.  Two  older  ladies  sitting  down  to  observe  from  stools.  Family  of  mother  and  2  boys  about  8  years  old  –  one  boy  argues  for  a  second  with  his  mum,  facilitator  helps  deflect  the  situation.’  

 

Facilitators  and  Met  Office  people  are  observed  to  be  fully  attentive  and  making  strong  engagement  with  participants  and  those  stood  around  the  periphery.  All  observations  include  notes  on  strong  facilitator  engagement  particularly  prompting  thinking  around  science,  for  example:  

• ‘Facilitator  encourages  father  and  son  to  think  about  what  might  be  in  the  air  and  follows  up  with  some  further  prompts  –  “over  there  we’ve  got  a  factory,  what  impact  might  that  have?”  Another  facilitator  prompts  a  group  of  four  boys  “so  if  our  city  looks  like  this,  what  might  be  in  the  air  around  us?”  “Pollution”’  

• ‘Facilitator  prompts  participants  (mother  and  daughter)  with  question  about  air  quality.  Mother  encourages  daughter  “what  do  you  think,  have  a  guess”’  

• ‘Children  from  different  groups/families  interacting  with  each  other  –  complementing  each  other’s  buildings.  Facilitator  discussing  air  quality  in  cities,  impact  of  trees  with  mother,  she  responds  with  interest.’  

 

The  weather  all  weekend  was  observed  to  be  ‘mild  and  overcast  with  sunny  spells’  and  this  may  have  impacted  on  the  large  numbers  of  people  participating  and  the  palpable  sense  of  positive  interaction,  enjoyment  and  engagement  coming  from  all  of  the  comment  cards  and  observations.  No  negative  comments  were  made  on  the  cards  and  the  large  amount  of  evaluation  data  gathered  is  strongly  positive  demonstrating  a  catalysing  impact  on  both  interest  in  science  and  understanding  of  research  and  Met  Office  functions.    

     

11. Impacts  on  participants  –  Comment  Cards    Participants  were  asked  if  they  enjoyed  Sandscape  at  Arts  by  the  Sea  festival,  and  asked  to  rate  their  enjoyment  on  a  scale  of  1:  did  not  enjoy  at  all  to  10:  enjoyed  very  much.    21  out  of  36  people  scored  their  enjoyment  as  10,  and  everyone  except  3  people  scored  their  enjoyment  within  the  top  20%  of  the  scale  (8  to  10).  The  detail  is  as  follows:  

 

• 21  people  scored  10  • 8  people  scored  9  • 4  people  scored  8  • 1  person  scored  7  • 2  people  scored  6    

 

Sandscape  impact  on  participant’s  interest  in  science  

 

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Out  of  36  comments  cards,  almost  half  (15)  participants    said  that  they  were  now  a  lot  more  interested  in  science  as  a  result  of  Sandscape.    Over  a  third  (13)  said  they  were  a  little  more  interested.    Eight  people  said  that  Sandscape  had  not  impacted  on  their  interest  because  they  were  already  interested  in  science.    No  participants  said  they  were  less  interested  or  that  the  project  had  a  negative  impact  on  their  interest  in  science.    

 Participants  were  asked  if  their  experience  with  Sandscape  made  them  more  or  less  likely  to  engage  with  other  science  events,  programmes,  festivals  or  activities  in  the  future.  Participants  were  asked  to  score  on  a  scale  of  one  to  ten  with  1:  a  lot  less  likely  to  10:  a  lot  more  likely.  

 

Scores  varied.  One  person  did  not  score.    Out  of  35  people  10  was  the  most  common  score  (15  people)  followed  by  8  (8  people).  As  with  enjoyment  above,  overwhelmingly  the  majority  of  people  had  been  impacted  by  Sandscape  and  were  a  lot  more  likely  to  attend  science  activities.  The  details  were  as  follows:  

 

• 15  people  scored  10    • 8  people  scored  8  • 7  people  scored  9  • 2  people  scored  7  • 2  people  scored  5  • 1  person  scored  6  

 When  asked  ‘How  did  you  find  out  about  Sandscape?’  Approximately  two  thirds  of  people  (21  people)  had  found  out  via  Arts  by  the  Sea  programme  or  website.  A  further  12  people  had  been  walking  past  Sandscape.    No-­‐one  had  discovered  Sandscape  via  Einstein’s  Garden  or  Green  Man  communications.    Four  had  discovered  the  project  through  ‘other’,  and  three  via  the  recommendation  of  others.  

 Nearly  everyone  commenting  on  ‘What  was  the  best  part  of  the  sandscape  activity  today?’  had  enjoyed  some  part  of  building  the  sandscape  and  watching  the  dry  ice.  19  people  had  commented  on  building  and  or  making  and  engagement  and  interaction,  for  example:    

‘When  I  built  big  ben’  

‘How  awesome  our  sand  building  was’  

‘When  I  built  a  castle  out  of  sand’  

‘Building  my  dome!  Awesome!’  

 

Being  creative,  being  involved,  utilising  building  tools,  building  and  making,  noticing  particular  effects,  for  example,  dribble  trees,  watching  ‘the  fresh  air  going  around’    were  commented  on  effusively  in  response  to  the  question.  One  visitor  commented  that  the  best  part  was:  ‘Interaction  with  building  your  own  project  and  taking  a  step  back  and  learning  about  effects’.  The  interaction  was  also  commented  on  by  three  people,  that  is  was  suitable  for  all  ages  and  engaging.  One  participant  said:  ‘Free  fun  for  all  the  family.  

 

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Learning  how  to  make  sand  houses’.  Five  people  specifically  commented  on  the  dry  ice  as  the  best  part,  for  example:    ‘Sand  sculpting  and  dry  ice  presentation’.  Three  people  thought  the  best  part  was  the  interaction  and  explanation  with  Met  office  volunteers  and,  for  example,  ‘the  science  and  technique  behind  sand  buildings’.    

 Did  anything  surprise  you  about  the  activity  today?  

People  were  surprised  by  numerous  areas  of  the  activity.    Four  people  commented  on  their  surprise  at  the  information  at  the  end  and  the  dry  ice.  One  said:  ‘I  liked  the  explanation  at  the  end  and  about  the  effect  of  different  parts  of  the  city’.  Some  were  surprised  with  the  dry  ice  and  at  ‘how  easy  it  was  to  make  sand  houses’  or  the  simplicity  of  it.  Conversely  one  person  commented  they  were  surprised  that  ‘it  is  really  hard’!    

 

One  participant  observed  that  they  were  surprised  by  ‘Wet  sand  being  strong  enough.  How  much  science  is  involved!’  Three  more  comments  were  surprised  by  how  much  more  educational  and  enjoyable  it  had  been  than  at  first  perceived,  surpassing  their  expectations,  and  also  some  surprise  was  expressed  at  ‘how  much  kids  learnt’.    Additionally  participants  gained  learning  on  ‘the  amount  of  thought  in  urban  development’.    Comments  also  included  words  such  as  ‘amazing’,  ‘its  very  therapeutic’  and  ‘you  were  allowed  to  build  really  big  things  today’.    

 Participants  were  asked:  ‘Did  you  discover  anything  about  the  impacts  of  weather  and  climate  on  health  today?  If  so  please  tell  us  what’.    Five  people  responded  ‘no’  with  two  clarifying  that  they  said  no  because  they  study  science.    The  majority  of  people  discovered  a  plethora  of  information  including:      

• The  importance  of  trees  in  cities  and  facts  regarding  trees  and  pollen  creation,  for  example  one  person  said  they  discovered  that:  ‘trees  under  stress  create  smaller  pollen’.    

• Information  on  cities,  particularly  in  relation  to  hotter  temperature,  air  pollution,  hay  fever,  river  effects  on  air  quality  and  air  flow,  for  example  one  person  said  they  discovered  that  ‘factories  pollute  a  lot’  and  another  that  it  is:  ‘interesting  that  pollen  is  more  prevalent  in  cities’  and:  ‘hay  fever  spreads  around  in  cities  more’.    

• Building  structures,  for  example  comments  included:  ‘Chimneys  are  better  if  they  are  smaller’;  ‘Taller  towers  =  further  pollution,  trains  better  than  cars’.  

 

When  asked:  ‘Has  the  activity  changed  your  view  of  the  met  office?  If  so  please  tell  us  how’.  Almost  all  of  the  36  participants  commented  that  their  participation  in  the  activity  had  changed  their  view  of  the  Met  Office  and  also  enabled  them  to  learn  something  new  about  the  Met  office  and  their  work.  Some  people  had  heard  about  the  Met  office  and  knew  of  their  role  in  weather  forecasting,  they  did  not  however  know  about  other  wider  work  the  Met  office  are  involved  and  their  varied  roles,  for  example  participants  commented:  ‘Yes,  didn't  realise  they  had  such  varied  roles’;  ‘I  didn't  know  they  get  out  into  the  community,  just  weather  forecasts’;  ‘Didn't  realise  how  much  research  you  do!  Brilliant  :-­‐)’.      

 

Sandscape  created  a  deeper  understanding  and  an  appetite  in  some  participants  to  see  more  and  know  more  about  what  the  Met  Office  do.    One  person  said  ‘I  love  what  you  are  doing  and  would  love  to  see  this  in  LA’.    One  person  suggested  that  to  them  the  Met  Office  now  ‘appear  more  caring’.    Whilst  commenting  

 

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on  their  change  of  views,  people  also  used  this  section  to  reiterate  how  much  interaction  and  fun  they  had  had,  for  example:  ‘Entertaining  and  informing  on  environmental  issues!;  ‘v.  impressed’.  ‘Great  having  interaction  with  families  &  making  it  accessible’.    

 

   

12. Improvements  and  suggestions    When  asked  on  the  comment  cards  what  would  you  change  or  improve?  A  number  of  people  had  no  suggestions  for  change  or  improvements.  Six  participants  commented  that  ‘more  time’  was  needed.  Four  participants  thought  the  activity  should  be  bigger  so  that  more  children  could  be  involved  in  each  session,  for  example  one  comment  said:  ‘Make  it  bigger,  lots  of  children  left  unable  to  join  in  due  to  small  numbers’.      One  further  participant  suggested  that  the  groups  should  be  smaller  or  the  activity  should  take  place  in  a  larger  space.    

 

Additional  comments  in  this  section  included  a  suggestion  for  the  comment  card  questionnaire  to  be  on  recycled  paper;  and  ‘improve  the  clock’.    Two  comments  pertained  to  conditions  outside  of  the  project’s  control.  One  person  wanted  ‘more  sunshine’,  and  one  ‘less  pollution’.