Science Ceilidh at East Dunbartonshire: combining science, storytelling, dance and music to look at big questions. Case study: Brainworks – East Dunbartonshire
EAST Dunbartonshire Libraries’ project, Brainworks, brought togeth- er young and older people in their local library to explore neuroscience and brain research, and inspire them through practical activities and lively discussions.
The library service collaborated with Lewis Hou, a science education specialist with a research background in neuroscience. Lewis led a number of activities throughout the project, including Science Ceilidhs. A Science Ceilidh combines science, storytel- ling, dance and music to look at big questions such as how dance can help address cognitive ageing and how music can support learning. It also aims to make scientific concepts more accessible by using ceilidh dance steps to simulate topics, such as the immune system and DNA base pairs. The Science Ceilidhs held in the library received particularly positive feedback from participants of all ages.
Working with universities Brainworks also saw project staff work- ing with academics from universities for the first time. The project brought Dr Evelyn McElhinney from the Depart- ment of Nursing and Community Health
April-May 2019
at Glasgow Caledonian University into the library to hold activities to explore the virtual world Second Life, and how virtual communities can influence people’s ability to live with long-term health conditions. A researcher from the Psychology Depart- ment at Heriot-Watt University, Dr Alan Gow, also took part in a Brainworks Day of activities at the library, giving talks to explore brain anatomy and how well people age.
Project staff had not worked with academics previously, and initially did not know how much to ask of academics. However, once underway the partnerships worked well. The library service gained experience in working with academics and the projects benefited from their expert input. The academics had the opportunity to connect and share their expertise with library users, which they had not done before.
The Brainworks project explicitly aimed to bring together different audiences through intergenerational activities. Project staff specifically invited participants from different age groups for some activities, such as the Second Life sessions, and the Brainworks Day attracted a wide range of ages. The project offered the local community the opportu-
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nity to attend science-related events and ask questions direct to experts, which was not something that they were often able to do.
Positive partnerships
The positive partnerships fostered through this Engaging Libraries project has meant that the library service will consider widening its offer to include more scientific engagement, including through future Fun Palace events and a Science Week to tie in with the Summer Reading Challenge. The academics involved felt positively about the relation- ships created with project staff and they are keen to work with the library sector again in the future. l
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