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Science shared at the seafront at successful Soapbox Science event
By: Jessica Gowers
Last updated: Thursday, 28 July 2022
Around 3,000 beachgoers saw scientists take to their soapboxes on Brighton and Hove seafront on 21 May.
Ten female researchers donned their white coats to deliver a series of inspiring talks on their areas of expertise at the 2022 Soapbox Science Brighton event.
Academics from the University of Sussex – alongside counterparts from the Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) and Universities of Portsmouth and Bournemouth – wowed the crowds with their science, which varied from talks on blood cancer to dark matter and quantum physics to the science of gambling.
During the three-hour event, passers-by also learnt how species adapt to changing environments, how scientists are developing drugs for Chagas disease, how enzymes can help solve the plastic problem and more.
When asked, 97% of visitors interviewed found the experience very enjoyable, and 90% thought it was a very effective event for promoting women in science.
Louise Davidson, a Research Student in the School of Psychology, gave an interactive talk on how her work helps emergency services work together to save lives. She said: “The thing I enjoyed most about Soapbox Science is sharing my passion for my research with members of the public – seeing both children and adults getting involved and excited and hopefully sparking some passion in them too, as well as showing young girls that they can have a career in science.”
Aishwarya Padmanabhan, a Neuroscience Research Student in the School of Life Sciences, spoke about how fruit flies can help understand human behaviour. She said: “Soapbox Science was a fantastic experience, we were able to introduce people to the world of science in a way that makes sense, brings a little excitement to their day, and leaves them thinking about the big questions in a small way. I had the best time working with the Soapbox Brighton team, which is filled with really kind, supportive and brilliant people.”
Soapbox Science launched in London in 2011 and is inspired by the concept of Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park. It aims to celebrate women and gender queer folks in STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths, Medicine), break down barriers and challenge the image of a stereotypical STEMM researcher.
Since then, events have been launched all around the world, including in Brighton in 2017 by a group of staff at the University of Sussex.
Dr Beth Nicholls, Research Fellow in the School of Life Sciences and lead event organiser said: “This was our first in person Soapbox Science event in three years, and it was so much fun to be back on the seafront, raising the profile of women and gender queer people in science and helping the speakers to share their fascinating research with the people of Brighton. We are very grateful to our sponsors, who are all keen supporters of improving gender balance in science.
"It was also great to see so much positive feedback from our visitors; quotes from interviewed attendeees described the day as 'interesting and different', 'very welcoming and cool science' and that 'it introduces science to young women who wouldn’t normally see such stuff'."
Sponsors for Soapbox Science 2022: the Royal Society of Chemistry (Downland local section), New England Biolabs UK, the South East Physics Network (SEPnet), the Institute of Physics (South Central Branch), the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour, and the University of Sussex (School of Life Sciences).
To find out more about Soapbox Science Brighton, including blogs from some of this year’s speakers, visit the website.