Speaker series makes science digestible for all audiences

The team at the Center for Communicating Science is sharing the ingredients that have made their 9-year-old Science on Tap New River Valley a success.

Created in 2017, the community-centered event brings researchers from Virginia Tech and surrounding areas to present their work to an audience of all ages each month. More than 80 events have featured over 150 presenters speaking on topics ranging from neuroscience to hermit crabs and have drawn more than 4,400 attendees.

“Science on Tap gives us the opportunity to invite faculty members, graduate students, and other researchers and scientists in the New River Valley to share their research with the community,” said Carrie Kroehler, associate director of the center. “A lot of people can’t name two living scientists, so this event gives them the opportunity to meet scientists and say, now I know a scientist.”

The event organizers said they now want to inspire and guide others to cook up similar events by sharing their work in a recent publication for the Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship.

“While developing our paper we found that many scientists and organizers face challenges when creating or participating in science outreach programs such as time constraints, lack of support, training, and funding, poor logistics, and even the language barrier between research jargon and the general public,” said Amy Hagen, a Ph.D. candidate studying geoscience and lead author of the paper. “We want this paper to be a recipe with suggested ingredients that others can pick from to make their own iterations of science outreach events successful.”

Kroehler helped establish Science on Tap with Center for Communicating Science Director Patty Raun, community member Katie Burke, and the then-president of the local Sigma Xi Research Honor Society chapter, Deborah Good. Held at the family-owned Rising Silo Brewery in Blacksburg, it includes one-hour informal science presentations with one or more speakers that are designed to engage a broad audience by offering a diverse range of topics, question and answer sessions, and interactive activities. 

Organizers said the goal of Science on Tap is not to persuade the audience to think a certain way about science or adopt a certain perspective, but rather to provide a forum for community building and the ability to learn and share information freely.

“I have been attending for years and come almost every month,” said Barb Glazer, a resident of Blacksburg and retired Montgomery County school teacher. “I like the fact that it’s geared to make science ideas simpler and engaging for people of all ages, and it is also a great way to connect with others from the community."

The series is organized by a committee of graduate students, faculty, and local science communication professionals, and while faculty members are available to support or mentor the committee, the graduate student team members often lead the event planning process. 

With years of planning and execution of many Science on Tap presentations, the committee, along with previous event organizers, decided to share the event’s importance and framework in hopes to encourage others to begin or evolve their science outreach events.

“Science on Tap is a great example of the Center for Communicating Science’s goal to help scientists communicate their science, and these events help them practice that in a more relaxed environment,” said Hagen, a co-organizer of the event. “This series provides a platform not only for scientists, but also for the audience, including kids, to be exposed to niche topics and potentially spark a curiosity to learn more.”

Since the start of the series in April 2017, Science on Tap has hosted a variety of scientists from different backgrounds, including some without academic degrees who use science in their careers, or researchers not affiliated with a university.

Of the presenters, two-thirds have been affiliated with Virginia Tech, including faculty and graduate students spanning the university’s colleges and a wide range of disciplines, while one third have represented community-based organizations or individual research careers. This includes farmers, journalists, mental health professionals, and artists. Topics have ranged from science poetry and dog behavior to aircraft and satellites and have even included locally relevant topics such as Lyme disease and the spotted lanternfly.

Over the past nine years, the series has not only become a monthly staple in many schedules, it has also developed into an integral part of the New River Valley community. Science on Tap offers a social environment outside of people’s daily spaces to learn, ask questions, and engage with others from around the area.

“In the realm of community building, there are things called third spaces. These spaces are not your house or your workplace. It is all the places where some of the most significant social interactions happen,” said Leslie Hager-Smith, previous mayor of Blacksburg and long-time Science on Tap attendee. “These spaces could be a church, a park bench under a shady tree, or a coffee shop. But a third space is what Science on Tap at Rising Silo has truly become. The series has been successful long enough that it is part of that important space for the Blacksburg community.”