The Norwich Science Festival is an annual celebration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) that takes place in Norwich, UK. The festival aims to inspire people of all ages and backgrounds to engage with science and to learn more about the latest research and discoveries. The festival features a wide range of events, including talks, workshops, exhibitions, and interactive activities, all designed to be informative, entertaining, and engaging.
This year, thanks to Dr. Emma Waters, a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Quadram Institute, the festival will cover the importance of diversity in science. Emma’s own story inspired her to develop an exhibition called “What is a scientist?” for Norwich Science Festival 2023. The exhibition showcases the diversity of scientists at our science campus and aims to inspire individuals from all backgrounds to pursue a career in science. You can read about Emma’s motivation for this project in her blog post: “Diversity in science; If you can see it, you can be it”.
Emma’s exhibition aims to challenge the traditional stereotype of scientists as “old, eccentric, white men who mess up with chemicals”. The exhibition features a double-sided photo wall of scientists from the Norwich Research Park that demonstrates that anyone can be a scientist, regardless of their background, race, age, sex, disability, etc. This provides children with visible role models in science. Emma believes that without visible role models, young people may dismiss the possibility of pursuing a career in science. Amen.
Below, I will post a selection of tweets and photos from the “What is a Scientist?” exhibition. I hope this will be inspire you and many others to become a scientist.
Acknowledgements
This post was written with assistance from ChatGPT. I am grateful to Emma Waters for this wonderful initiative and for inspiring this post.
