Tactile Collider: A new approach to the communication of fundamental science to visually impaired people

Rob Appleby,Robyn Watson,Chris Edmonds

doi:10.18546/rfa.04.1.03

Abstract

There is a large public interest in topics such as the Large Hadron Collider and the Higgs boson, primarily communicated to school children and the wider public using visual methods. As a result, visually impaired audiences of all ages often have difficulty accessing the scientific communication and may not be culturally involved in the scientific process. Tactile Collider aims to address this issue and has developed new methods of engaging visually impaired children and adults in science by the creation of the Tactile Collider model. This model has been developed with visual impairment (VI) experts and consultations, and implemented in a national touring event called Tactile Collider, visiting VI schools and centres around the country between 2017 and 2019. This paper describes the model and its development, and the use of the model to curate Tactile Collider events in 2017 and 2018. We present a quantitative and qualitative analysis of three 2018 events, showing the effectiveness of the approach and the engagement of the audience. The broader applicability is discussed.

Highlights

The communication and outreach from the scientific community to the wider public is an important part of the scientific process, to inform the wider community and give engagement to all stakeholders
The primary audience of a visual impairment (VI)-focused event encompasses teachers and teaching assistants who work alongside learners with a VI, who will be provided with dedicated continuing professional development (CPD) sessions aimed at increasing the expertise and knowledge of the teaching staff
The way science is currently presented often relies on visual methods, excluding the large and largely underserved visually impaired audience

Summary

Introduction

The communication and outreach from the scientific community to the wider public is an important part of the scientific process, to inform the wider community and give engagement to all stakeholders. Wide communication is a responsibility and duty of every scientist This effective communication helps formal education and recruitment into science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects (QAA, 2017). This communication of the science is predominantly delivered using visual methods, often using pictures, conventional diagrams and other graphics (ibid.) to explain the material. Visually impaired audiences of all ages often have difficulty accessing the scientific content and may not be as engaged as their sighted peers This can result in the exclusion of large demographic groups (Mason, 2001; Fisher and Hartmann, 2005). There are two million people in the UK with some kind of sight loss (RNIB, 2017), making this a very large underrepresented audience

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