Strictly Science: keeping one step ahead REPORT 2013

Strictly Science:

keeping one step ahead

a free interactive exhibition from 4-14 April to celebrate 100 years of the MRC by the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre & Haberdashery

Report: June 2013 Tres Bien Fait Thanks for the inspirational exhibition

Thankyou because I learnt so much from this

Incredible-very inspiring.

Lots of fun too!

Great view of the march of science. Love science Lots to do and interesting research

Lots of fun stuff!

Really interesting!

A wonderful exhibition, Thankyou!

Amazing! Better than the science museum, more interactive for kids It was so awesome.

Again, again!

It is very good

Epic

It’s so great!

Well done for a very interesting Excellent stuff! exhibition esp interactive component Excellent. Especially the turnip juice and eye-tracker Pong Love it, learnt a lot

Great Show! I’ve learnt a lot!

Interesting Exhibition, we shall know where to look for more exhibitions, Thankyou!

in neurotechnology

Excellent! Will recommend to everyone, fellow scholars and countrymen. Keep up the good work!

Stunning

Fantastic

Super exhibition, loads of interesting things to see and do

Fantastic exhibition!

Its been really interesting to gain Well done! insight into today’s developments

Very interesting

Excellent show.

The kids love every bit of it.

Fascinating!

I thoroughly enjoyed every part and learnt a lot

Totally awesome Interesting

It was so enjoyable to read all the info and take part in interactive projects staffed by scientists Fun, needed interactive stuff for adults. I wanted to take away a 3D brain

It was very interesting to see the experiments

I sincerely enjoyed this event. I Really interesting Brilliant! found it incredibly interesting!

A very nice exhibition

Fun demos and very informative

Fabulous

The future is exciting!

Excellent

Brilliant, very very interesting

Loved it all

Very interesting for kids. Thankyou

Very Fun!! And great exhibition

Awesome

Very absorbing and inspiring

Fantastic exhibition-especially making the brains

Very Interesting

CONTENTS Introduction Schools competition and exhibition Exhibition footprint Audience statistics Audience feedback Volunteer feedback Organiser feedback Challenges & Successes: conclusions

INTRODUCTION Strictly Science: keeping one step ahead – a free interactive exhibition aimed at the broader public – was staged from 4-14 April in the main foyer and Business School of Imperial College London.

This report collates audience and organiser feedback, reviewing the successes and challenges of the project. Feedback was collected during the exhibition through face-to-face interviews, videos recorded by visitors in the future zone, camera monitoring throughout the exhibition and a visitors’ book. Organisers and volunteers filled in a questionnaire post-exhibition.

The exhibition covered 500 square metres within the main foyer and Business School of Imperial College London

The Strictly Science: keeping one step ahead exhibition was designed by Haberdashery and curated by the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre

Robert Winston talks to the YESTERDAY lab volunteer scientists

The aims of the MRC centenary programme were to (i) balance scientific achievement with celebration, (ii) embrace MRC life, (iii) acknowledge and involve stakeholders, and (iv) to create a legacy.

Strictly Science was targetted at the non-speclialist public, in particular the ABC1 group. On account of the timing of the exhibition over the Easter holidays, families were a key target. Strictly Science aimed both to excite and inspire the public, to make them proud of what they have funded and are continuing to fund. £1 in every £1000 of taxpayer revenue goes to the MRC, a sum total of £675 million in 2013.

The TOMMORROW lab explored future hopes and fears for the century ahead inviting visitors to share their views via YouTube

How well did the Strictly Science exhibition meet the MRC centenary objectives?

Balance scientific achievement with celebration – the exhibition through the YESTERDAY lab highlighted key MRC discoveries made 100 years ago in vitamin-deficiency, nerve transmission and war-wound treatment, exemplifying through lively dialogue with the audience how each discovery has impacted not only on medical practice but on our understanding of what it means to be healthy. Around 5000 visitors enjoyed the Strictly Science exhibition from 4-14 April 2013.

Acknowledge and involve stakeholders – the exhibition invited the general public to explore the future predictions, hopes and fears of many well-known personalities from a variety of professions, and those of primary school children, in the form of a 3D sound installation in the TOMORROW lab. Visitors shared their views by recording a short video (the collection may be previewed on www.youtube.com/strictlyscience) on the laptops provided

Embrace MRC life – the exhibition harnessed the enthusiasm and communication skills of over 60 research scientists, professional science communicators, museum curators and administrative staff to engage exhibition visitors in MRC research past, present and potential.

The volunteers were an extremely important part of the exhibition, and public feedback indicated that visitors were extremely pleased to engage directly with researchers.

Create a legacy – the aim of the YouTube project was to act as a legacy online, a repository that people could continue to add to after the exhibition.

Generating spontaneous video responses as per the original plan wasn’t hugely successful. In general the video response rate was low, but ‘future surgeries’ were set up to encourage participation. Similarly exhibition visitors – given the facility of laptops – were keen to record their views for inclusion. In addition to the 34 featured videos, the public added over 90 videos. More than 100 hours of video content has been viewed online with channel views in excess of 6000.

SCHOOLS COMPETITION AND EXHIBITION In the run up to the exhibition, the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre launched a competition for primary schools to create artwork for the Strictly Science exhibition. Pupils were invited to imagine the world in 2113 in any artistic medium.

The competition ran from September 21st until December 21st 2012. Design agency Haberdashery judged the artwork and shortlisted winning entries for inclusion in the future space of the exhibition.

A comic book was produced to help schools learn about the past 100 years.

Heroes of Health introduced pupils in years 4-6 to the science of Sirs Henry Dale, Almroth Wright and Dame Harriette Chick.

Ten workshops were delivered to primary schools across the UK by the PEMG Head, which helped pupils to better understand what MRC research scientists have done and are continuing to do. Four short films - produced by Kiki von Glasow - were shared with years 4, 5 and 6, to help pupils get a taste of present day research. The exhibition was promoted online through the Association for Science Education (School science resource), which invited entries from schools that didn’t receive a workshop.

Jordan, from Irchester Primary School alongside his portrait

Future interviews were conducted with primary school children for exhibition within and around the TOMORROW lab.

3D portraits of pupils and public figures adorned the walls of the future zone, while their voices were featured with those of Melvyn Bragg, Jon Snow, Baroness Greenfield and others in a 3D sound installation within the TOMORROW lab.

More than 60 competition entries were received from nine primary schools in Greater London, Northampton, Rutland and Nottinghamshire. Entries included short films, powerpoint presentations, sculptures, mp3s, drawings, paintings and poems. A selection adorned the Wishworld wall throughout the exhibition with letters from pupils to John Savill (MRC CEO) expressing their hopes and fears for 2113. Many of the pupils came with their parents to the exhibition.

Pupils from Bramley School created a rap as part of their project on smoking

EXHIBITION FOOTPRINT

0 Space Manager Pythagoras AB

Lobby 1

yesterday cinema

mrc history

1.1771

1.9682

today cinema

Lobby 2

20 m

today lab

yesterday lab

3.6343

children’s exhibition

children’s area

tomorrow lab

AUDIENCE STATISTICS The exhibition covered approximately 500 square metres (in excess of 2000 square feet). The exhibition footprint is displayed graphically on the left. Based on random samples from camera monitors taken at intervals between 4-14 April, it is estimated that around 5000 visitors attended the Strictly Science exhibition. User statistics collected by Dr Aldo Faisal and the TODAY lab team are outlined below.

Visitor traffic across a typical exhibition day (10.00-18.00) may be previewed as a timelapse animation on www.strictlyscience.mrc.ac.uk.

The Exhibition Road foyer of Imperial College where Strictly Science was staged in London

Comics and catalogues 2400 comic books were distributed in total. Heroes of Health was free to exhibition visitors, and distributed to schools through a series of educational workshops in the run up to the exhibition.

2600 exhibition catalogues were distributed to visitors from 4-14 April 2013.

Historical talk and future debate

Blink

On 4th April, the exhibition launched with a historical talk and discussion featuring Professors Tilli Tansey, Av Mitchison, Denny Mitchison and Daniel Davies, chaired by Vivienne Parry.

2048 visitors played the classic computer game Pong using only their eyes. The average game lasted 76 seconds (+/34).

On 11th April, a future debate was chaired by Kat Arney featuring a discussion with Professor Richard Festenstein, Dr Aldo Faisal and Dr Anna Smajdor.

Balancing act

Both events were sold out (lecture theatre capacity = 80). Footage from these events will shortly be available on www.strictlyscience.mrc.ac.uk.

The TODAY lab involved the public in neurotechnology experiments currently being conducted by Dr Aldo Faisal’s research team

2350 attempts were made on the balance board interactive with 93% of participants completing the game. The average game lasted 98 seconds (+/- 41).

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK Audience feedback was collected through face-to-face interviews conducted throughout the exhibition, and by means of a visitors’ book, the contents of which adorn the front and back cover of this report. Visitors also recorded their own short videos sharing their hopes and fears for 2113, available on www.youtube.com/strictlyscience.

Visitors wearing 3D specs to view 3D portraits of famous people who were interviewed about their future hopes and fears

A word cloud depicting adjectives used by visitors to describe the exhibition in the Visitors’ Book. Words appearing more prominently were used more often

Audience feedback collected face-to-face suggested that the past, present and future areas of the exhibition successfully engaged different audiences.

One young mother was particularly impressed. “Absolutely fantastic, much better than the Science Museum,” she said, “it’s more interactive and more hands on. My daughter thought it was ‘the best museum ever.’ She got bored of the Science Museum. I’ve learnt loads, about the motion sensors and how technology can be used to help disabled people. It’s a really good exhibition, an eye opener.”

Visitors enjoy the Heroes of Health comic book, which was free to visitors during the exhibition. Children’s activities included a quiz and the chance to make their own brain hat

A middle-aged visitor commented that, “It was very very good. Very interesting hearing all the famous people and children saying what they think the future will be like in 100 years time. It was very soothing sitting there listening to all these voices, I could quite happily have sat there all day just listening to those voices.”

The TOMORROW lab united the predictions, hopes and fears of well-known professionals from diverse sectors alongside those of primary school children in the form of a 3D sound installation and lighting display

The YESTERDAY lab re-enacted century-old experiments, helping explain how the first neurotransmitter was found, how rickets was first cured, and how treatment for warwounds was improved

An 11 year-old girl, “especially liked the different inventions and the quiz,” adding, “This exhibition was very good. I really really liked it. The movement thing; controlling the computer with your eyes; and the machine that could make a model of a brain or shark. It’s the first exhibition I’ve seen like it. I do science at school, but I think this is a pretty good way of learning. I’d really recommend it to anyone to come see it.”

A former research scientist from Cancer Research UK said of the YESTERDAY lab, “I liked the interactive lab – the history bit. Talking to the guys and going back in time, that’s where the impact is for me; finding out about the experiments.

I’ll remember more from that than from the information on the stands.”

Before the visitor’s book was available one visitor insisted on getting an email address so he could contact the organisers, “I want to thank you all for a superb exhibition. We stumbled upon it on our way to the Science Museum and spent over two hours looking at your exhibits. All your staff were really enthusiastic and informative. There was plenty for adults and children to do. I hope the rest of the week is successful. Please try and repeat this again. I would like to be advised of your future activities.”

Visitors were invited to complete a quiz. Clues were found as sounds stored in latex ears (pictured) dotted across the exhibition

The TODAY lab was particularly popular with younger exhibition visitors: “Excellent, expecially the turnip juice and eye-tracker Pong” “It was amazing. I got a record time on the balance boards”

Visitors use the Blink interactive to play the classic computer game, Pong, using only their eyes

“Great! Loved the eye-tracking game” As well as being fun, however, it also responded to people’s desire to learn more about the science behind the interactive exhibits.

“It’s been really interesting to gain insight into today’s developments in neurotechnology”

Visitors clearly enjoyed the re-enactments of century-old experiments in the YESTERDAY lab:

The YESTERDAY lab allowed visitors to see a working century-old kymograph, which helped Henry Dale discover the first neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, a chemical that helps our brains talk to our muscles

“I enjoyed it very much it was full of information that was useful to know.

I’m not from a science background so I found out about some important characters in medical history. My favourite was the historic lab, I tasted some of the things yes…nasty but good for you!”

The TOMORROW lab provided an immersive experience for a broad range of visitors: “Great show, learnt lots. Future sound installation was fascinating although it made me dizzy (I will now take my Vitamin D)” “The future department was dope. (Do not let high people in the future bit).”

“Very informative! More hopeful for the future than before”

The TOMORROW lab featured a 3D sound installation based on hopes, fears and predictions for 2113. Interviews are available in full on www.youtube.com/strictlyscience

VOLUNTEER FEEDBACK Strictly Science was supported by more than 60 research scientists, professional science communicators and MRC administrative staff, who volunteered to help engage the public in contemporary MRC-funded research through the TODAY lab; experiments that were conducted 100 years ago through the YESTERDAY lab; and more generally in the story behind the MRC’s foundation.

A recruitment poster was circulated widely across the MRC, Imperial College and further afield inviting potential volunteers to attend a talk and workshop on 28th February 2013 at the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre.

“I had a fantastic time and would have liked to do more days had I not needed to get back to work. I would definitely do this/something similar again and would recommend it to colleagues”

The TODAY lab was peopled by three to four research scientists from Dr Aldo Faisal’s neurotechnology lab daily

“It was a lot of fun and very interesting too. I enjoyed being part of this event and would have no hesitation in recommending it to colleagues” “Excellent interactivity; attractive layout and design; very friendly people and feel to the exhibition. Well-pitched to public interests” Visitors were able to learn about how the MRC started through the YESTERDAY cinema The YESTERDAY lab was manned by at three research scientists and professional communicators daily

Additional training was provided for YESTERDAY lab volunteers, who conducted re-enactments of experiments by Henry Dale, Almroth Wright and Harriette Chick.

The feedback from volunteers suggested they enjoyed the experience, would do it again and recommend it to colleagues: “It was really great fun: I really enjoyed doing the demonstrations and interacting with the public, as well as getting to know the other volunteers”

“Volunteering was great fun. I would love to contribute again and would recommend it to my colleagues”

Volunteers filled in a brief questionnaire post-exhibition. Most felt that the exhibition was successful: “I think everyone that came through our area had a really interesting and entertaining experience. My own children and their grandparents came to the exhibition - there was something for all of them, and they stayed for 2 hours” “The YESTERDAY lab looked really good and authentic, and the TODAY lab activities were really fun and engaging. The TOMORROW lab was also good with the sound system and nice atmosphere” “The variety of information and activities was excellent, with plenty of interest for all age groups”

chester Medical School was extremely eye-catching. The games in the TODAY lab were fun interactive examples of current research, and the atmospheric TOMORROW lab provided a space for quieter contemplation of science and its place in our world” “I think the level of interaction was great. It was wonderful to be able to point out the activities as a way of guiding people to the different areas and ensuring people saw the whole exhibition” “The people with children really enjoyed it, and it got busy around lunchtimes, but there could have been a lot more visitors”

The YESTERDAY lab attracted a fairly constant stream of traffic and volunteers were very successful at engaging visitors

The volunteers overall had a good impression of visitor response: “I think they enjoyed it. In particular parents were very pleased they could leave their kids to play a bit and learn something, and kids definitely liked their brain hats!”

Volunteers in the YESTERDAY lab who re-enacted century old experiments on vitamin-deficiency, nerves and war-wounds

“I had a wonderful time demonstrating in the YESTERDAY lab, and getting to talk science with such a wide variety of people. It was great fun discussing aspects of the science they could relate to and seeing some of the younger visitors that appeared to be having their first taste of science. I would be very happy to be involved in similar projects in the future” “The exhibition really looked the part.

Haberdashery and the design team did a wonderful job, which made it so easy for us as scientists to step into our roles engaging with the public. For the YESTERDAY lab the equipment from Man-

“Some gave positive feedback and said thank you when they left. Many visitors stayed quite a long time” “There was an element of surprise that it was happening and there was so much to do. I think perhaps the unusual location made the publicity harder to attract people away from the standard museum activities” “I was expecting more visitors to come” “Parents were really happy, children thoroughly entertained, individuals looking for the Science Museum sometimes seemed disappointed” “I think the exhibition received a great response from the public. They were quite excited and curious to know more”

“Positive response. I’m not sure they al- bits they seemed most interested in as was appreciated the high standard of the they came around” volunteers” “I think the biographical info was great.

The TODAY lab was manned by researchers who were able to explain first hand to visitors how their interactive tools are I was there for the first Thursday and used for neurotechnoloical research Friday and so perhaps felt a little bit unguided as to the structure of the day and how things would work. However, I was back at the end of the week and it had all sorted itself out. I think doing eight hour shifts was rather a challenge, maintaining the enthusiasm across the entire day, but I’m not sure it would have been possible to have everyone coming in for half days. Similarly I think having so many different volunteers provided challenges for passing on information and ensuring everyone had the same training. Overall I think the information was The majority of volunteers felt they were great and certainly the support on hand on the day was great” given adequate support to take part in Strictly Science, although some found the experience challenging: Biographical profiles of MRC pioneer scientists were available outside of exhibition hours

“The tasks were kind of straight forward so I had no problems, but it would have been great to have a bit more info about what we were going to be doing before the day we were volunteering” “I would have preferred more guidance about what to say to people when they arrived. I felt criticised by one of the organisers, yet had received no training. The criticism was, I felt, misguided.

I was a volunteer. I was given a T shirt that was far too small and not in the size I requested. It was uncomfortable to wear and I’m sure did not give a good impression”

“Organisation was efficient” “I was happy with the info I was given”

“The information sheets and suggested ‘scripts’ for the demonstrations were just “I believe even when people are informed about their roles, things crop right” up and we just have to enjoy our time and not be too stressed or too laid back.

“I wasn’t really sure what I was doing I think the structure/organisation was at the beginning of the first day. It was great” fairly hectic and things weren’t finished, etc. However, I think part of it was nice in the way that you learnt what the pub- “I had sufficient information and the event structure was clear in my opinion” lic liked as you went along. It was definitely better not to have formal demonstrations and to just show the public the

Some of the volunteers had suggestions about how we might improve on Strictly Science in the future: “I think some kind of big posters on the glass walls of the venue would have helped people to realise the exhibition was on. And also I had the feeling that some people were a bit lost when entering the space, since there was not a ‘start’ so they didn’t know where to go first”

“If it was possible to have access to the space a bit earlier so that more of the building could have been done before the opening day then that would have made everyone a bit calmer. Otherwise, I think it was brilliant!”

Imperial College prevented any kind of postering on the glass fronted windows, although after much negotiation we were eventually allowed to project onto the glass, which helped advertise the exhibition outside opening hours.

It was a challenge to build and dress the 500 sq metre exhibition in 48 hours on April 2nd and 3rd

The host venue allowed 48 hours only for set-up. Most of the infrastructure was prebuilt in a studio in East London, but couldn’t be assembled until set-up.

There were some unforeseen issues with print materials that caused a delay with set-up and meant that the build team were unable to proceed, resulting in the need to work into the small hours of the morning on launch day (4th April).

Projection on the glass fronted foyer advertised the exhibition to passers by on Exhibition Road

“I wish I could have been there the whole time, or at least seen everything up and running at the end of the exhibition. Serious congratulations to everyone who got involved, especially those running around behind the scenes” “Advertise it more” “It was a really good event and a lot of fun. The only issues may be the organisation of the event, as I think it would’ve been useful to have the ‘demonstration day’ as an opportunity for the volunteers to have a go with the equipment they will be using”

Equipment was kindly lent by a variety of organisations. Owing to storage space constraints and insurance purposes, it was not possible to make everything available to volunteers in advance of the exhibition launch.

“There were comments from people within Imperial that it was not adverstised well internally - perhaps that could be improved (more direct emails over the few days before the exhibition)?

I think they would have encouraged friends to attend” “More publicity (if allowed), more signposting from the outside”

“More advertising or broadcasting? Maybe we could have had an even better impact on the public then” “As always the majority of the children who came and made brain hats were from middle income families. Targetted advertisement, for example, to local authority run holiday camps may have broadened the reach”

DAY lab volunteers were all great and enthusiastic with the public. In fact, I’d say they all were once they got into it.

One volunteer was an awesome flyerer, which helped boost incidental traffic” Owing to the MRC advertising and marketing freeze, and College constraints on externally placed signage, the organisers were restricted in their ability to advertise the exhibition. However, a modest poster campaign was conducted through CBS. Visitor feedback suggested that this did help to attract visitors, although clearly the consensus among volunteers was that the exhibition wasn’t as well advertised as it could have been, and that visitor numbers could have been higher.

Children making brain hats in the kids area of the exhibition

“I think it was difficult to attract people this close to three brilliant free museums. Moreover the street advertisement was poor. We would have met more people if we were integrated into a temporary exhibition outside the Science Museum or the NHM (I realise it may not be feasible). Meeting and discussing our work with the visitors in an informal wasy was easy and rewarding. I blieve this was a main goal and was a success in my opinion” A logistics manager was recruited to assist with the day-to-day running of the exhibition, briefing volunteers, etc. She commented afterwards of the volunteers that: “I would say as a general comment that all of the people who gave more than two days were super keen and enjoyed it. A lot of the volunteers who came for one day seemed to have been a little reluctant and weren’t really so engaged, but seemed to leave happy about the experience. YESTERDAY lab and TO-

Andy Georgiou, who helped to boost visitor numbers by distributing flyers and wearing a sandwich board

ORGANISER FEEDBACK Coverage

PR

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Haberdashery’s PR agency worked with the MRC press office to promote the exhibition in the national media and press.

Coverage included a preview in the Mail on Sunday the weekend before the exhibition launched and coverage on all the main listings websites.

Haberdashery’s PR team commented afterwards that, “many listings opportunities are picture led and unfortunately we only had one image to work with, the poster of Henry Dale. Despite this coverage was secured in The Independent, in their Arts and Entertainment supplement, Radar, the Time Out blog, The Big Issue, Londonist, TNT, Kensington & Chelsea Chronicle, The British Medical Journal and Design Week.

They added that, “internally there were certain issues that we felt could have been handled better and would have resulted in greater exposure.”

The MRC press office said, “More time to help seed feature stories would have been useful, however, without a news hook or research story to sell to the media, it was always going to be hard to achieve widespread coverage. It’s very rare that exhibitions achieve general news coverage without an appropriate hook.”

Social media A 3-month internship was funded by Goldsmith’s College with support from Santander to support the promotion of the exhibition through social media. The intern managed the YouTube, Facebook and Twitter accounts associated with the exhibition, helping to generate an online buzz about the exhibition. She was mainly based at the CSC, but spent some time in the Haberdashery studio.

A clipping from the Mail online, which picked up on the interview with the late Sir Patrick Moore

The stats for social media usage from Feb - April are outlined below: Twitter @Strictly_Sci: 485 followers were acquired, 895 tweets issued. A Facebook page was set up (77 likes were generated). As a countdown to the exhibition, one video a day speculating on the next 100 years was released on YouTube (using Twitter and Facebook to help disseminate) from the end of February until the exhibition launch. In addition videos recorded by exhibition visitors were added to the channel throughout the exhibition. There are 98 videos on the Strictly Science channel www.youtube.com/strictlyscience which have generated 5364 views. Over 100 hours of content has been watched.

Planning and delivery The Strictly Science exhibition was first outlined late in 2010. At the end of 2011 a budget of £150K was committed.

The exhibition working group included CSC Director, Amanda Fisher, Ben Rigby (Lead Designer, Haberdashery), Dr Aldo Faisal (Associate Group Head, CSC) freelance producer, Andree Molyneux,

screenwriter, Kiki von Glasow and as working group chair, CSC Head of Public Engagement, Brona McVittie.

Much of the research was done in advance of recruiting a design team in May 2012. The overall ideas for the TODAY, YESTERDAY and TOMORROW labs were in place although without fixed ideas as to implementation.

Feedback from the organisers suggested that some felt there was enough time to deliver, where others felt constrained.

“An accurate time estimate is always going to be somewhat indefinable for a job of this type, but based on past experience I think we got it about right” “There was enough time in general to do the assigned job, but no clear assignment of roles in the exhibition team, which made communication between team members sometimes difficult and less efficient than it could have been”

“Deadlines were not set out early enough and should have been more strictly observed. The museum consultant should have been a planned and dated feature, however few days she could be allowed. Her suggestions could have been considered and if accepted, implemented in good time. Text, catalogue, etc should have been given a much earlier deadline so that all consultants had time to contribute. This was particularly important to the design team whose work might have been better and the installation really completed properly if all information and materials had been delivered at an earlier date” “The exhibition would have benefitted by drawing on an experienced exhibition curator earlier to work on a schedule/ deadlines as well as devising means for better communication between the exhibition team and design team” Melvyn Bragg with members of the exhibition team

“Time was eaten up trying to facilitate difficulties in interaction design, ongoing negotiation of usage conditions relating to our space at Imperial College, and content detail. Vast over runs of our time dealing with the College in particular had a very negative effect on the design and delivery process” When asked what organisers didn’t feel worked well about planning and delivery, the response identified some internal issues that presented a challenge: “Sometimes there was a feeling of ‘too many cooks spoiling the broth’ - with very different people responsible. Aspects of planning and delivery were sometimes confused and contradictory and issues with the building management didn’t help the delivery process” “Certain areas of the exhibition were left undefined, but perhaps this is understandable given the number of people involved in decision making”

The exhibition team had two workshops with an experienced exhibition interpreter, which helped to clarify some of the issues referred to above, but the consensus is that greater support both with planning and narrative development should have been sought earlier.

While there were issues with planning and delivery, the organisers unanimously agree that the exhibition was a success: “From an aesthetic point of view it was successful, but from a promotional point of view there was a lot more that could have been done. The exhibition space was never going to do justice to the design and creative aspiration of the show” “Very. The visitor response was great (and for me this is the most important thing). It worked well, good numbers of people attended and it looked great.

Kinks in the production process didn’t afffect the visitor impression much, and I think that as an event it was a great success, and strong representation of the MRC/Imperial” “The interaction between the public and the demonstrators was great. People were very interested. In my view this exhibition has helped promote the work of the MRC” “I’ve only had the most positive of feedback from all the visitors I spoke to” “Very successful. The public engaged positively with the displays and the volunteers (for the most part) enjoyed representing the MRC” “The exhibition was successful in reaching the aim of making scientific research (past and present) more approachable and exciting to visitors, and it made them think more about the future. Despite some issues with the planning and delivery process, the exhibition was successful overall” “Successful in terms of visitor experience (very positive feedback). Partially successful in terms of getting visitors through the door: always difficult with such a short window for the exhibition.

Extremely expensive for Haberdashery in the time we ended up committing” The organisers’ impression of visitor re-

sponse was - as the visitor feedback also suggests - really positive in all: “Very positive. Lots of ‘better than the Science Museum’ comments and ‘we love the interaction’, and very evident enjoyment on the faces of kids running around with quizzes or talking to the demonstrators” “I was impressed by the kindness of the visitors, their interest in your story, their patience and the knowledge, especially of the children. Sooo different from the Netherlands” “Time was enjoyed, brains were teased, fun was had and in a stimulating, yet relaxed atmosphere. Provocative and inspiring. We created something unique and special” “Excellent. Families were highly enthusiastic about the opportunity to interact with installations and real scientists/experts. Many made the point that it was nice to be in a less busy and frenzied environment - as experienced at the Science Museum. Most people appeared pleasantly surprised by the range of activities on offer at the exhibition after assuming it was a conventional boards and diagrams exhibition” “Very enthusiastic. Many comments on the interactive aspect, delight that interaction was with scientists and not only with computers. Impressed with the ability of the demonstrators to engage with the children and adults and to answer questions. Parents generally very pleased with the play area and the quiz devised by Jess Douthwaite, who managed the children’s work. Visitors were keen to record their own predictions and left some interesting material” “The visitor response was very positive.

Most thought the exhibition was unique in its interactive approach. They loved being able to take part in something and to have the science explained to them at the same time. Many children (and

adults) were encouraged to leave their own messages for the future” “Excellent, especially being able to interact with real humans!”

Organisers felt there were several things which could have been done better:

could have been solved by drawing on a consultant exhibition specialist earlier and at crucial points in the preparation” “Although I’m not sure this would have been achievable, it would have been great to couple the exhibition launch with the publication of relevant research to generate news coverage. It would have been good to have more dedicated time and resource for press planning rather than having to shoehorn it into business as usual”

“Strictly Science was flawed not in conception, but in terms of the practical elements that supported it. If the exhibition had a more popular location or platform and a greater area to convey its messages, it would have worked consid- “Using a dedicated exhibition space, allowing the amount of install time erably better” requested. Clearer goals from the interaction in the TODAY lab, less mis“I get the feeling that the scope of the sion creep. Fewer stakeholders, more exhibition as originally conceived was co-operation from the MRC as a whole. more than could realistically have been Transparency of the MRC/Imperial reexpected from quite a small team, with lationship, which was troubled at best. mostly limited resources/experience of If Haberdashery had done the research something on this scale. Maybe if the content could have been firmly agreed at it may have taken a very different dian earlier stage, energy could have been rection e.g. an area about Tom Jones focussed on the practicalities of realising (famous TB sufferer). I can honestly say this was the most challening 10 days of the ideas?” my career within Haberdashery, not for design reasons, but in dealing with the “Advertising. The team working on the political landscape of the two institutions PR and advertising failed. Publicity was involved” non-existant. Some people said they had seen the big posters in the tube Strictly Science was the only centenary station, but most people came because working group with no representation at the whole team took turns at passing monthly MRC corporate comms meetout leaflets and talking to passersby ings. This likely influenced the lack of on the street every day. A professional publicity for the exhibition by the MRC museum curator engaged as a consultpress and comms teams. Imperial Colant for a few separate days at an early lege didn’t help publicise the exhibition stage would have made an enormous difference. Less overlap in the work, and since this was viewed as an external event. decisions that affected design and content should have been made earlier in Imperial College agreed to host the exhithe schedule” bition, however many stakeholders became involved in negotiating the use of “The PR for the exhibition didn’t work well at all. Visitors came mainly because the space at a late stage. Consequentof the leafleting and the poster they had ly the production team was hampered seen in the tube. There were hardly any by complex politics which impinged on delivery at critical stages in the project. articles about the exhibition (just a few Outlining clearer project objectives to photos) in the media or on the internet. the host at an earlier stage could have The PR team working on promoting the exhibition failed to draw attention to the alleviated some of the anxieties generated. exhibition. Time management issues

CHALLENGES & SUCCESSES: conclusions Key points challenges and successes are outlined below with conclusions bulleted: Audience engagement – based on the feedback received from visitors and volunteers, the interactive nature of the Strictly Science exhibition was a key feature of its success in engaging visitors.

Making MRC scientists and their research accessible to the public was perceived by the public as hugely valuable. There were a few stresses and strains behind the scenes, but these didn’t compromise visitor enjoyment and organisers generally felt a sense of pride in what they’d achieved e.g. “Provocative and inspiring.

We created something unique and special” • Interactive elements key to the success of the exhibition • Engagement was valued by the public and by the volunteers Content – visitor feedback indicated a high level of appreciation of exhibition content, both within the exhibition and at the associated evening events. Not all planned content was made available, however. Some of the schools work wasn’t shown for example: YESTERDAY lab e.g. “loved seeing the old medical equipment in action” TODAY lab e.g. “I learnt a lot today. I especially like the eye game” TOMORROW lab e.g. “Future sound installation was fascinating…”

Children’s exhibition e.g. “Enjoyed the Wishworld exhibition and reading about children’s ideas for the future. Great!”

• The busiest areas were the TODAY lab, YESTERDAY lab and kids’s area highlighting the importance of allowing the public to have a scientific experience through face-to-face engagement

• More introspective areas such as the cinemas, TOMORROW lab and Wishworld wall complimented the interactive zones • Less is more. Fewer, better designed and built areas should be considered Design – the public didn’t comment directly on the exhibition design, although the volunteers appreciated the aesthetic e.g. “Haberdashery and the design team did a wonderful job, which made it so easy for us scientists to step into our roles engaging with the public”.

While the design team felt overall that they were heavily overstretched in the time they committed to the exhibition – on account of the number of stakeholders involved, the lack of consensus on content, etc – the addition of professional design to the conventional festival format made this event into something different • Scientists enjoy engaging the public within an aesthetically pleasing, richly layered environment Planning and delivery – the Strictly Science project was conceived earlier than many other MRC centenary flagship projects, however, challenges in planning and delivery were experienced, albeit none that seriously compromised the project. Several organisers referred to problems arising from the number of people involved in decision making, complications with communications, lack of directly relevant experience within the exhibition team, and confusions regarding roles and responsibilities • Roles and responsibilities need to be clarified early in the planning phase • More hands on deck isn’t necessarily a recipe for success; specialist consultancy should be sought early in the planning phase

• More contingency needs to be factored into project plans to accommodate projects with multiple stakeholders • Project ambitions should reflect resources Publicity – the majority of volunteers and organisers felt that the exhibition wasn’t well publicised enough and that the PR campaign didn’t work. However, Haberdashery’s PR agent managed to prompt a preview in the Mail on Sunday and significant inclusion on listing websites. They and the MRC press office commented that without sufficient imagery and a story hook, it was difficult to engage journalists in the exhibition. The feedback from The Sunday Times was that the list of public figures featured in the TOMORROW lab didn’t quite have the celebrity status to justify a preview • PR needs to be considered right from the conception of the project in order to ensure sufficient media interest • PR plan should be formulated early in planning phase, if possible Venue – it was a great boon to be invited to transform the Imperial College foyer so much of the Business School into an exhibition space. The pedestrianisation of Exhibition Road really helped to boost incidental traffic and exhibition visitation.

A lot of production team time was eaten up in negotiations regarding the use of the space, however, on account of its not being an exhibition venue. The College viewed the exhibition as an external event, promoting the MRC, which made it a challenge to garner support with promoting Strictly Science internally • Events taking place within non-museum environments within a complex University infrastructure need to identify effective internal support early and communicate clear objectives to all stakeholders

It’s a fantastic exhibition

Good job everyone-I much enjoyed this show Awesome Stuff!

Enjoyed the wishworld exhibition and reading Very informative! More hopeful for the future than before about children’s ideas Very interesting work and for the future! Great! I love your work. Thanks Lovely and friendly good interactive activities and Good luck! exhibition 10/10 Lots of interesting Very interesting-needed more publicity facts, I would definitely The exhibition is really interesting come again especially the vision test, thanks

Awesome

Absolutely Science is Fun! brilliant!

Excellent Thankyou All!

Brilliant, well done

Nice

Pure dead Brilliant! Aye!

Great. It’s excellent

The future department was dope. (Do not let high people into the future bit)

Brilliant Thankyou!

I’m good at it , I like it (present lab)

Simply amazing! Thankyou for organising this!

It was amazing. I got a record time on the balance boards

Great! Loved the eye tracking game!

Very good

Very interesting.

Would definitely come again I loved the eye game, thankyou

I loved it and had a good time.

Really interesting!

Amazing. Love the Very interesting!

Blink experiment It’s very unique, I’d like to do it with my college

Very fun

Really interesting, loved seeing the old medical equipment in action

I learnt a lot today, I especially liked the eye game I stumbled upon this exhibition by chance.

How I wish it were in term time to be able to bring my class of children (the scientists of tomorrow!) You are all so interesting and good at bringing it to life

Tremendous. Very many thanks I had a really good time and liked trying out THE experiments

Loved playing Pong with my eyes

Epic, should be on all Awesome! year round! Excellent!

A good way to learn facts Wonderful! Interesting Research!

V good

Excellent

Fascinating exhibition, great interactive elements and well presented by the staff/scientists. Saw an advert for it on the tube, glad we came!

Really nice, interesting and informative simply

Great Show, learnt lots. Future sound Wonderfully, installation was fascinating, presented things of although it made me dizzy (I will much significance now take my vitamin D)

Past, future, living ,fab lab-life lab?