Situated engagement is a call to action

Jeff White

DragonCon Parade

Jeff White

DragonCon Parade

I do think the reaction to science comes from ... people cheering for the fact that science was on the sign, I think probably stems in a large part from the fact that it is a parade, and that's the accepted behavior. And so it's probably very likely that they were cheering for every bit of it that came by because of, "Hey, it's also part of the parade." So I think some of it was getting caught up in the atmosphere of the parade itself, but I do think that this was in some ways a unique subset of people in Atlanta that had an open mind towards science and science fiction and fantasy and gaming and that subset. Not necessarily everybody, but I think it's a case of, there's people who were on the fence and didn't know what they wanted to do with it. When you're in that environment and seeing how positive it is and you're left with this reaction of, "Oh, that was kind of cool. Maybe there's just some things that I want to start looking into."

Helen Regis

Observer

DragonCon Parade

Helen Regis

Observer

DragonCon Parade

What's the function of being in a parade? Well, I mean, you're connecting with people that you wouldn't meet otherwise. Of course you're connecting with the people you're marching with, which is what I was emphasizing a moment ago, but you're potentially rubbing shoulders with and interacting with people who you might not meet at work or at school or in your neighborhood. So that's where the incredible strength of this gathering of people is really fabulous. And the crowd really was way more diverse than I expected. I think that's really amazing. And I think the idea that science can be fun, that science can be exciting, that's already implied in the fact that you're marching in a parade. So I think though there could be ways to make that even more fully realized in the interactions, but I think that that's a strong element of what already was presented this year.

Jeff White

DragonCon Parade

Jeff White

DragonCon Parade

there is something that happens before the parade. It's something that I either didn't really know or forgot, but that whole process is really important, and I think it speaks to an opportunity that is bigger than just DragonCon, but an opportunity to really integrate science into many different events like this. There's a big lantern parade, there's something called Atlanta Streets Alive and there are all these parade opportunities, the Pride parades. And perhaps one thing that Science ATL could do, is to generate this science in parade, science on parade club, that would do the things that you described, have these workshops and meetups between makers and artists and scientists, who could then also showcase some of the resources and some of the big players in the Atlanta science scene, in the context of putting science out there and integrating it into the cultural scene in Atlanta. I'm really loving this idea and I'm thinking more bigger than just DragonCon. Well, that would really help the organization to be potentially more of a year round activity for people who love that stuff, that they could have several events and they can practice what works, what doesn't work, and think, "Okay, three months from now we're going to do it a little different."

Helen Regis

Observer

DragonCon Parade

Helen Regis

Observer

DragonCon Parade

I guess I would add just a little more about the parade crowd itself. In downtown Atlanta the streets are really wide and I have to say, coming from new Orleans, they're super clean, and the audience members are four or five people deep. The kids are sitting on the sidewalks, many of them wearing superhero costumes, so they're in full spandex. They're really excited, they're parents are really excited. So there's diverse ages, and I would say in terms of race ethnicity, there's quite a lot of diversity as well. It's hard to say for sure about income and education, but that's probably the case too. And so I was really impressed with that, and also with just how incredibly focused and enthusiastic the crowd was. They were reading the parade really, really closely, and they were looking for things to figure out. And I think in terms of just describing the setting, I think that's really important for understanding what a good idea it is to do this with science, I think, and also the opportunity there, that the scene presents. And

Gemima Philippe

Observer

DragonCon Parade

Gemima Philippe

Observer

DragonCon Parade

I would say that in the way that we presented science it's like, "Here's the thing you're learning in the middle of all of these other shenanigans." And the subtle message there is that science is more serious, I think, or less inventive

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Situated engagement joins community.

Gemima Philippe

Observer

DragonCon Parade

Gemima Philippe

Observer

DragonCon Parade

I'd like to bring up a point. So on my way there, I took the MARTA, and what I saw was so many different kinds of people who weren't the typical television definition of a nerd, dressed up in their costumes, and because it's free and it's public it's really accessible, and because it's on the MARTA line and downtown, there's fewer barriers to entry. And so little Latin X kids were on the train in their superhero costumes, and you could see some of the teenagers dressed up as their TV shows. And I think in all things there should be a diversity in approach, and if we look at DragonCon as just one tool of communication of science then ... You have a whole group that does tons of different kinds of science, so I guess what I'm trying to say is, in so much as DragonCon is just one avenue of science communication or of science engagement, I think it's actually really inclusive, and I guess just from my experience on the MARTA, there were people that I just did not expect to see excited about DragonCon, and they were hype and loud and building their excitement as they got closer. I'm just reading myself at this point, but to the extent that this isn't the only way you connect with audiences, I think it's just one really, really effective tool to reach people.

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Situated engagement connects cultures.

This theme is explored more in category conversations.

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Situated engagement is personal.

Gemima Philippe

Observer

DragonCon Parade

Gemima Philippe

Observer

DragonCon Parade

And so thinking in that way of how each of the individuals embodied their character, quote-unquote, you can't see my air quotes. I would say that in the way that we presented science it's like, "Here's the thing you're learning in the middle of all of these other shenanigans." And the subtle message there is that science is more serious, I think, or less inventive than these people dressed as plutonium and Einstein as a skeptic. I think there's still some more development to be made in the ways that we present the planets, if we're sticking with planets again next year. In that we were saying how Venus, she kind of played up on that feminine energy, and I think adults especially responded to that, because they had that connotation already. And so I think in addition to how we deliver messages, I think also considering how participants are the message can help people reach that understanding that science is embedded in all things.

Helen Regis

Observer

DragonCon Parade

Helen Regis

Observer

DragonCon Parade

And I think it's important to remember also the larger political moment that we're in, which is, a lot of people who do science don't feel that what they do is necessarily highly valued in the dominant structures of power in our society. So having science in public is really, really powerful, and I overheard a woman saying, "Yes, I work in science. I have a very good job. I really love science." She was sharing that with us, which just seems crazy, but she was shouting it to everybody. I never would have expected something like that would happen. That was somebody in the parade audience? Yeah, exactly. So there was that feeling of recognition. You all are parading, you all represent science, and I'm also a science person, I'm connected to you. And everybody around her was laughing like, "Yes. Okay. That's great."

Gemima Philippe

Observer

DragonCon Parade

Gemima Philippe

Observer

DragonCon Parade

my emotional reaction I think was of awe almost, like, "Wow, so many people are really, really excited about seeing science here." And so it was a shock almost that in this very fun, to be blunt, and kind of cartoon superhero fantasy, this very performative space, that science was so highly cheered, even seeing people cheer for the word science on the sign, that was interesting to me. As someone who knows science is in all of these things, but it's less explicitly stated. I think when you're looking at a Chewbacca costume or R2D2, you're looking at the fantasy not the science. I'm still trying to piece together how people receive science in these contexts, because science is so categorized as one distinct discipline away from our everyday life, that I'm not sure how to even process what people were getting from it, if that makes sense.

Gemima Philippe

Observer

DragonCon Parade

Gemima Philippe

Observer

DragonCon Parade

I think for me, knowing that I'm coming in as an observer and separate, I found myself getting caught up in it. And especially with little Pluto and with earth and the moon, and giving them encouragement and really ... It was in spite of myself. I was surprised by how connected to the parade. I felt, even though I had given myself the pep talk, I was like, "Okay, here's what you look for." And I came in with a very academic or detached view of things, like, "This is not something I am attending, this is something I'm working at." But even then it was just impossible to avoid getting caught up in all of the energy and the positivity and the fun and the joy that was happening. So that's something that I think I'm ... And I've been telling all my friends about it since I came back, and very surprised by that. I wasn't expecting to be so involved, or to feel so involved.

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Situated engagement reframes science.

Helen Regis

Observer

DragonCon Parade

Helen Regis

Observer

DragonCon Parade

I would definitely not use the word inauthentic, is because I think that the Science In Vivo group, the planets were so joyful and sincere in their contribution, that I think people took that at face value, as like, "You're here, you're a part of it." It's already a given that you're a part of it because of your engagement, you're marching down the street with people. I think the one thing that was a little bit dissonant was that some of the groups marching were using more explicitly playful ways of marching, and our group was a little more serious. But to the extent that we were playful, I think it really worked. But I think that was potentially a little bit of a disconnect, but I think that sometimes that can work too, right? I think as long as you're sincere and you're engaging with people, people respond to that, and that's what I observed. So I think that what could make the engagement more successful would be to use more of the approaches to being playful that were already there, and to build on that, and just develop, that side of it. But I definitely didn't feel like it was outsiders inserting themselves,

Gemima Philippe

Observer

DragonCon Parade

Gemima Philippe

Observer

DragonCon Parade

if there is an element of confusion and understanding of process, people will shut down and they won't internalize it as a fault in themselves, versus a fault in the learning technique. And so there is an implicit message about, you just can't understand this, that is delivered when there's a concept that's not well explained. So I would say to find other ways or deeper ways that are quick to connect the concepts together, I think would make the whole experience more cohesive.

Helen Regis

Observer

DragonCon Parade

Helen Regis

Observer

DragonCon Parade

I guess another risk that I see potentially in a display of science that shows science as being about what is known about the world is that it doesn't communicate the sense of discovery. So I guess that's a completely different concern, but that science is a lot about trying to figure things out, right? So that if you're presenting science as, "Well, this is what we already know about the world. Are you with us?" And people are like, "Well, I didn't know that." They may feel like, "Well, no, I'm not with you because I didn't already know that." So I think that one possibility with the parade would be to do a little bit more to engage people in the idea that there's discovery involved and they're being invited to discover. And

Helen Regis

Observer

DragonCon Parade

Helen Regis

Observer

DragonCon Parade

There's just a risk that if the messaging was about what science is or the examples of science were not coming through, there's a risk that people might come away thinking, "Science is hard, science isn't for me. I don't get it. I feel excluded." So I would say that's a risk of this kind of quick engagement around science. I do not think that that happened with this group at all, but I think that's a risk of this kind of engagement. The intention of course is to reach out and invite people to be excited about science and to think, "This is something I can do." So I think that that is what was happening, but the risk is that the other message would be taken.

Gemima Philippe

Observer

DragonCon Parade

Gemima Philippe

Observer

DragonCon Parade

Everyone's saying it is a fast paced transient environment, so I don't think there's a lot of opportunity for deep learning in something like this. I think that the opportunities available here are kind of, let's start the conversation, let's show you who we are and what's possible, and then hopefully down the road we'll have a chance for a longer conversation,

Jordan Rose

Team Leader

DragonCon Parade

Jordan Rose

Team Leader

DragonCon Parade

Something else that our participation in DragonCon really enables, and that is not only the teaching of science content, but just the value of science and the love of science and the presence of science throughout the city. And so I think being at DragonCon gives us that stage to integrate science into the culture of Atlanta. And so because of the challenges that Jeff described, it's really difficult to teach science and have them come away learning something, but there are other opportunities that this kind of event presents to put science on the stage, within the context of our city, so that people can see that, "Yeah, it's here, and there are opportunities for me to learn. Maybe I'm not going to learn today, but I'm going to get excited about science learning opportunities in the city."

Jeff White

DragonCon Parade

Jeff White

DragonCon Parade

So there is a lot of fun interplay between the audience of the parade and the people in the parade, but it is really quick. It's lightning fast and, like I said, the biggest challenge for trying to do a parade entry of this kind is, what is the stuff that has a meaningful impact in such a really short amount of time? It's got to have that high impulse so to speak.

Jeff White

DragonCon Parade

Jeff White

DragonCon Parade

Occasionally you get quote-unquote, lucky, that something ahead of you maybe slows down, if there's a vehicle that has an issue and so everything stopped for a little bit. Sometimes you have those rare moments where you have a little bit more interaction with the crowd. The phrase that kept coming to mind during this project was drive-by science. You don't have time to stop and do stuff with it, and so in an organizational sense that was a huge challenge of, what are some demonstrations that have a very short time to observe that can be on the move and don't require electricity, and aren't going to be so cumbersome, but it's going to slow everything else down. So it presented an interesting problem. But in terms of the crowd reaction, the crowd had a great reaction to everything that we were doing, really everything that was going on in the parade. I think partly that's a reflection of the characteristic of DragonCon, a conference as a whole. Everybody at the conference, with obvious outliers here and there, but everybody at the conference was always very supportive of everybody else at the conference.

Helen Regis

Observer

DragonCon Parade

Helen Regis

Observer

DragonCon Parade

I do think one of the challenges for doing science in that setting, is that when you're a marching group you're moving pretty fast, and so what is it that you can communicate quickly as you're marching past people? That's a little bit of a challenge.

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Situated engagement transforms participants.

Jeff White

DragonCon Parade

Jeff White

DragonCon Parade

my connection to the parade previously had been me being stationary, the parade moving past me and seeing how everybody interacts with it. But now it's seeing that the entire length of the parade is completely involved and the audience is very into it all the way through from start to finish. Talking with some of the volunteers afterwards, it was an overwhelmingly positive experience, I think a little more so than everybody expected, and a lot of that was due to the fact that the crowd was very receptive to it.

Helen Regis

Observer

DragonCon Parade

Helen Regis

Observer

DragonCon Parade

... There's no way he could have done that if he hadn't been there last year. And so similarly, in parades, people comment on last year's parade or they comment on the other groups that are parading or they comment on other things that are going on in the community, or it could comment on things that are going on in Atlanta, or they could comment on, obviously, Waconda, or what's been happening with Spider-Man. And I'm not going to use the right language, but the multi-verse or the universe or whatever it is that's happening with Spider-Man. That's really exciting and it's got a lot of people interested in comics, who haven't been interested in them before. So there's a way that parades speak to what's happening right now, that is part of what makes people excited about them, so there's an opportunity there as well. I realize, you might not want to do political commentary about what's happening with science, but it could be a way to connect more to the popular culture of the present possibly. Yeah. And then interacting with other marching groups, I think is a big thing that people do in parades, and that Gemima and I observed. When the planets were dancing together, that was fun for the planets and it really engaged the audience too, that there was a physical interaction among the paraders. That doesn't have to be choreographed, but it's helpful when it happens.

Helen Regis

Observer

DragonCon Parade

Helen Regis

Observer

DragonCon Parade

learned a lot from other paraders, and from looking at one year's parades and I have a chance to think about, "Oh, this is what I want to do next year. Next year, it's going to be so much better." But also being coached by veteran paraders, and certainly in the parades that I, to some extent how I observed groups marching with the DragonCon parade, is that they use their body as part of the parade, as well as using symbols and of course words as symbols to convey meaning. And so the way the body is dressed, wigs, hats, things like that, are a big part of the messaging, they said they set the tone. And a lot of paraders do use words, but they don't rely on words as their first way of communicating meaning. And so things that people can see at a distance, regardless of the font size you're using, things that stick up into the air, flags or other things that people can see coming are helpful. And then obviously things that are just a few feet off the ground or at the level of the body, people will see those right when you're upon them, they don't see them coming. Those are just some thoughts I have on people who have used parading as a distinct technology first for communicating and for sharing information.

Helen Regis

Observer

DragonCon Parade

Helen Regis

Observer

DragonCon Parade

Please- But that's all for now. Oh no. [inaudible], you want me to say more? Yeah, I think so. One of the things here, just to give you context, is that we don't ... I don't know, Jordan, is this the first time you've been in a parade since you were in school? Yes. This is my first time being in a parade. Yeah. Great. So this is not business as usual for many of us,

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DragonCon Parade

DragonCon Parade

August, 2019

take action

Situated engagement is a call to action

Jeff White

Jeff White

Helen Regis

Helen Regis

Jeff White

Jeff White

Helen Regis

Helen Regis

Gemima Philippe

Gemima Philippe

join communities

Situated engagement joins community.

Gemima Philippe

Gemima Philippe

connect cultures

Situated engagement connects cultures.

make it personal

Situated engagement is personal.

Gemima Philippe

Gemima Philippe

Helen Regis

Helen Regis

Gemima Philippe

Gemima Philippe

Gemima Philippe

Gemima Philippe

reframe science

Situated engagement reframes science.

Helen Regis

Helen Regis

Gemima Philippe

Gemima Philippe

Helen Regis

Helen Regis

Helen Regis

Helen Regis

Gemima Philippe

Gemima Philippe

Jordan Rose

Jordan Rose

Jeff White

Jeff White

Jeff White

Jeff White

Helen Regis

Helen Regis

transform the team

Situated engagement transforms participants.

Jeff White

Jeff White

Helen Regis

Helen Regis

Helen Regis

Helen Regis

Helen Regis

Helen Regis

be supported

Situated engagement is better with special support.

images

Participants

Jeff White

Jeff White

Jordan Rose

Jordan Rose

Helen Regis

Helen Regis

Gemima Philippe

Gemima Philippe

DragonCon Parade

Science on Parade

Con_Science