Science storytelling

Me (left), the marine geophysicist, in the field and some of my sciart
about the exploration of space: my linocut portrait of astronaut
Mae Jemison (above) and mathematician and Space Race aeronautical
engineer Mary Golda Ross (below) 

I had not realized how few posts I made here in 2018. So, one of my New Year's resolutions is to post more frequently in 2019. I find my goals are sometimes too elaborate to acheive in the time I have available, so my pragmatic solution is to open up my criteria a bit and mix up longer posts with those briefly sharing some of my discoveries of wonderous items at the intersection of art and science.

To start off, let me share some of my own adventures in sharing science mixed with art, both #sciart and storytelling about science. Last fall, I gave a talk about my experience as an astronaut candidate for the Canadian Space Agency for Science Literacy Week. Since astronauts are both scientists and science communicators, I combined an introduction to my research with my science-art, since I usually use the medium of fine art to communicate science these days. This was the first time I had an opportunity to combine these two very different pursuits in one talk! I also, of course, spoke about the extraordinary experience of the astronaut selection process and getting the opportunity to go the the Astronaut Assessment Centre. I have since given a version of this talk to a troupe of boy scouts and visiting girl scouts. I will be giving this talk two more times this year at Toronto Public Libraries. You can catch me:

March 19th at 2 pm
Albert Campbell Library
496 Birchmount Road
Toronto, ON M1K 1N8

or

Tuesday April 2 at 6:30  pm
Coxwell/Danforth Branch
1675 Danforth Avenue
Toronto, ON M4C 5P2

But even sooner, you can catch me next Monday, telling a tale about when marine geophysics goes wrong, at the Burdock (1184 Bloor Street) for The Story Collider, a science storytelling event series and podcast, where people tell personal stories about science. You can reserve your ticket here. The stories might begin at 7:30 but seating is limited, so unless you're happier standing (closer to the bar), you'll want to arrive by 7:00.