Empowering Youths in STEM through the Arts

Background Since the opening of our Science Centre, we have noticed that youths were the least category of audience that has visited our centre, when compared to other visitors categories in the past 6 years. This trend in youth visitors is not just a scenario found only in Malta, but this is also common issue found in centers all around Europe. Here at Esplora our vision is to cultivate a culture of scientific curiosity and creativity, and this is not limited to any particular category of visitors. For this reason, we wanted to create something specifically for youths in order to cultivate a culture of scientific curiosity and creativity. Our objective was to develop an output which brings together science, emerging technology and art; three fields which are hugely considered separate. In order to create an effective resource, we have joined forces together with another two science centres; NEMO in the Netherlands and CosmoCaixa in Spain, to develop a non formal interactive resource which specifically targets youths. With the involvement of Malta's National Youth Agency; Aġenzija Żgħażagħ and Inizjamed, an artistic and educational organistion, we were able to work with youths and assist us in the development of the interactive output which would then be done with the youths at each science centre. With guidance of the Aġenzija Żgħażagħ they have guided us to focused specifically on youths between 16 to 24 years, which subsequently these ages were the age groups we had the least amount of visitors. Throughout this project, we have delved deeper in the reasons why science centres are not much frequented by youths between the ages of 16 to 24 years. Research was done in a triangulation format, meaning that research is done by using more than one method to collect data on the same topic. In the course of this research the we have made use of the following methods to collect data: - Literature Review - Focus groups - Social media youth survey questionnaire In addition to research, training events were also organised from Inizjamed, and offered to the rest of the partner representatives. These training sessions consisted of various group workshops and discussions on how the arts could be intertwined with science communication and technological aspects, and therefore educate through non formal learning. Following the training events, given that there is a noticeable shift in the mindset and education between teens of 16 years and young adults of 24 years, after consulting with the partners and EUPA, we agreed that in order to better reach the youths, and for our activity to specifically address particular age groups. This meant that instead of developing one interactive resource, we would instead develop three interactive resources, which would then be shared among the three centres, and be accessed freely by the youths and those interested. Therefore, it was agreed that each science centre will focus on specific age groups as below: - Esplora Interactive Science Centre: 20 to 24 years - CosmoCaixa: 16 to 18 years - NEMO Science Centre: 18 to 20 years In addition, four multiplier events were organised by the three Science centres: E1: Science Café in Malta E2: Science Café in Netherlands E3: Science Café in Spain E4: Concluding Seminar in Malta Through these multiplier events helped us reach to our youth visitors and strengthened our connection between the world of STEM and youths. They added more value to the results achieved in this project, and the voice of the youth was greatly empowered and appreciated by the community. Objectives With the involvement and cooperation within the five project partners the objectives listed at application stage were all successfully achieved. The objectives attained were as follows: - Promoting youth engagement and youth development: Promoting effective youth development requires involving and motivating young people. Youth must be actively involved in programs and thoroughly engaged. Their involvement should be ongoing, and they should be able to apply the knowledge and understanding they have received in the program to their larger communities. - An increase in awareness in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) fields: Nowadays we are hearing so much about STEM careers, however a number of youths are not aware of what these refer to. This project made it possible for the youths to become exposed to these fields through the three interactive resources developed by the science centers. Through the science café sessions, different aspects of STEAM fields were discussed among the youths together with youth workers and professionals in the field of STEAM. - There will be more promotion of non formal education and learning among youths and science centers: Science centers provide the required environment for non formal learning, providing a flexible, responsive education that is better suited to the unique circumstances of these groups. - Youth will be further inspired to take up STEAM subjects in the education and related careers: With increased exposure to STEAM subjects and their importance in today's, youths are more likely to choose STEM subjects and further develop their future careers. - Youth members of the surrounding communities will be more involved in and with science, technology, art and innovation: the interactive activities developed were developed with the input of local youths through surveys and focus groups - To bring out the artistic factor in communicating Science through Storytelling activities: The three interactive outputs have been integrated with various artistic forms, and this is highly recommendable with non formal learning. In addition to these objectives, youths were also encouraged the promotion of STEAM disciplines and associating the museum with Art topics and artistic practices implying transversal learnings that have a high value for the youths in their future. The outputs created and delivered gave the opportunity to reflect about contemporary and philosophical themes, such as the future of science, technology, including robots and artificial intelligence, which are key to the development and the promotion of critical thinking of young people. Implementation Throughout the 20 months of this project, there were two types of activities, those that were by the project partners and done for the benefit of the rest of project partners, and other activities which were valuable to the youths. In order to develop interactive outputs which are suited for youths, we made sure that our representatives working with the youths both when developing the output and throughout the delivery of the output throughout one of the science café sessions, we equipped our representatives from the three Science Centers, and the youth workers from Aġenzija Żgħażagħ. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the training events were spread in two parts, the first part was done online throughout the July 2021. Representatives from Inizjamed planned this training for science communicators and education content developers from the three Science centres, and youth workers from Aġenzija Żgħażagħ. Throughout these training sessions, various discussions and groups exercises. Although the sessions were held online, participants were able to freely discuss and cover various topics such as; fake news and social media, storytelling in science communications, writing tips for science communications among others. In September, we were able to plan the training sessions as per application. These were held at Esplora Science Centre, Malta. Representatives from all partners, as well with youths that were also part of the focus groups held by Aġenzija Żgħażagħ. These sessions were more hands on and throughout these sessions, the results from the research, survey questionnaires and focus groups were discussed together with the project partner representatives. It was during these sessions that it was decided that each science centre should focus on specific age groups, and instead of one interactive resource, there will be three different resources, which were later disseminated between within all the partners, for the sustainability and legacy of the project. This decision was done after consulting with the National Agency. Apart from these training events, at the completion of Intellectual Output 3: Development of Interactive Resource, each of the three science centres, NEMO, CosmoCaixa and Esplora organised a multiplier events, each of which targeting the age groups that the interactive resource was projected. Due to Covid-19 regulations, it was not possible to hold solely one event, and so with the assistance of EUPA, it was decided that we hold a number of science café sessions with less participants, however, maintaining the same objectives. These events were successful as all science centres managed to reach their target audience and collected positive feedback from the evaluations. After going through the feedback from the youths, all partners together with the youths agreed that our interactive resources would focus on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. This was decided based on the responses we had received. This was very beneficial to the youths as they appreciated that their input was important and valuable for all the project partner representatives. Through gathered feedback, they felt empowered and they appreciated the fact that we were giving them our time to hear their desire on what they wish to see at the science centre, which would attract them to visit the science centres. NEMO Science Centre- Two sessions were held at this Science Centre. This activity targeting youths between 18-20 years. Their interactive resource was related to robotics, entitled 'Robots in Captivity'. The science show was about Robots and through it they asked the teenagers how they felt about Robots. Do they have the same feelings as humans? Should we treat them like humans? Do they feel pain? How would the future look like? The idea behind the show was to start a discussion about the role of robots in society. The students really liked the show and participated actively in the discussion afterwards and even at the centre later on. This show was recorded and can be freely accessed for viewing on our Esplora website; https://esplora.org.mt/empowering-youths-in-stem-through-the-arts/. The video includes also English subtitles. Esplora Interactive Science Centre- A total of 3 science café events were held at Esplora. The interactive resources was targeted for youths between 20 to 24 years. The activity portion of the workshop will be an escape room inspired codebreaker, with physical puzzles that the participants must solve in order to arrive at a final goal. This will be themed around the Enigma machine which will be used to decipher messages hidden within the puzzles. After the activity, participants had the opportunity to know more on AI through a discussion together with professionals within this sector. Throughout these events, the youths were grouped in different teams, and after hearing the story line, they were given various items which would help them crack the code for the code breaker challenge. Following the challenge, we invited professionals in the AI field which were able to continue with the discussion on the relevance of artificial intelligence in today's life. This raised more awareness on how relevant artificial intelligence is and how useful it is in our world. The youths were very participative and the level of engagement was highly praised by those present. This showed how much the objectives of the project were reached and encouraged us to go further into creating these resources for youths. CosmoCaixa, Barcelona- The topic of the workshop is on Cyborg with the sessions targeted for 16 to 18 years old students. The main topic was Technology, which was common for all the partners, and more concretely, CosmoCaixa decided to focus the activity on cyborgs and transhumanisms. With the involvement of a Cyborg, Neil Harbisson, youth were invited the audience to come up on stage, amplified the sound from his head to the audience and then played the notes of the hair, eyes, skin and lips of each participant, creating a musical composition. Afterwards, a debate activity with Professor Jordi Vallverdú and the researcher Núria Conde was held to reflect on different aspects of transhumanism. CosmoCaixa prepared a list of topics and questions of interest that could be used as inspiration to encourage discussion during the debate. Security, equity, gender and reproduction, legality, and planned obsolescence were some of the topics chosen for the activity. This was very engaging for the youths, and up-skilled their debating skills and 21st century skills. Furthermore, in order to give continuity to the activity once finished, CosmoCaixa decided to develop a complementary material. It is a dossier with a game proposal: a role-play activity to promote debate in the school using cards. This activity can be accessed through this link: https://esplora.org.mt/empowering-youths-in-stem-through-the-arts/ The debate session was also stimulating. The students had already worked on this topic at school prior to the activity so they had a background before the activity and this allowed them to actively participate on the debate. The session was recorded and can be viewed for free on our Esplora website on the following link; https://esplora.org.mt/empowering-youths-in-stem-through-the-arts/. The video includes also English subtitles. Achievements Project Results: This project was a new experience in the project sector of Esplora. It proved to be a very fruitful experience; to engage with local youths at such a comfortable setting. To collaborate with another two science centres with whom we had never worked with before, was a productive experience; learning new practices and sharing of ideas coming from different cultures. Furthermore, we had the opportunity to discuss regular issues we find at our centres, and by pointing out similar issues, we were able to adjust and develop a better solution to reduce these issues. The most common issue was that of having few youths visiting our science centres. This was the starting point of our development of the interactive resources, and we delved deeper through our research that was done in a triangulation format, meaning that we used different tools to collate our research. This was done by preparing a literature review, distributing survey questionnaires among youths, and having focused groups put together with Aġenzija Żgħażagħ. The survey questionnaire focused on why youths are the least visiting audience in science centres, and their understanding of STEM subjects. In addition, training activities were also very useful for all project partner representatives. These training events were organised by Inizjamed, where various discussions and group work activities were held on different topics, including theatrical aspects such as storytelling which was then involved in the interactive resources developed later in Output 3. The training events although being slightly impacted by Covid-19 pandemic, proved to be very beneficial in up-skilling the project partners skills and knowledge in 21st century skills and competences necessary for developing the three interactive resources. The training events were not only useful throughout the project duration, but they are also useful after the project ends, which adds to the legacy and sustainabilty of this project. CPDs and training sessions will be held using the material acquired in the training sessions with new members joining the science centres and the local youth agency (Aġenzija Żgħażagħ). Throughout this project we had a number of successful outputs including: 1. Review of Literature 2. Methodology and Results from survey and focus groups 3. Training Event for project partner representatives 4. Three interactive resources targeting youths between 16 to 24 years 5. Four multiplier events, including three science café held in Malta, the Netherlands and Spain, and a concluding seminar, held in Malta. The three interactive resources in more detail: Esplora Interactive Science Centre: Age group targeted: 20 - 24 years The interactive resource entitled 'Unlocking AI. Can you crack the code?' The activity was a workshop inspired codebreaker, with physical puzzles that the participants must solve in order to arrive at a final goal. This will be themed around the Enigma machine which will be used to decipher messages hidden within the puzzles. After the activity, participants had the opportunity to know more on Artificial Intelligence through a discussion together with professionals within this sector. NEMO Science Centre: Age group targeted: 18 - 20 years The interactive show was about Robots and asking the teenagers how they felt about Robots. It was entitled 'Robots in Captivity'. It inquired questions such as; Do they have the same feelings as humans? Should we treat them like humans? Do they feel pain? How would the future look like? The idea behind the show was to start a discussion about the role of robots in society. The students really liked the show and participated actively in the discussion afterwards and even at the museum later on. CosmoCaixa: Age group targeted: 16 - 18 years The main topic was Technology, which was common for all the partners, and more concretely, we decided to focus the activity on cyborgs and transhumanisms. They made research about the topic and contacted with potential collaborators: Neil Harbisson is a contemporary artist and cyborg activist best known for having an antenna implanted in his skull and for being officially recognised as a cyborg by a government. The antenna allows him to perceive visible and invisible colours via audible vibrations in his skull including infrareds and ultraviolet as well as receive colours from space, images, videos, music or phone calls directly into his head via internet connection. His artwork explores identity, human perception, the connection between sight and sound and the use of artistic expression via new sensory inputs. Jordi Vallverdú is a Professor at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. His research is dedicated to the epistemological and cognitive aspects of Philosophy of Computing, Sciences, AI and emotional models for Humans-Robots interactions. Núria Conde is a doctor in biology, an expert in bioinformatics and co-director of the Complex Systems research group at Pompeu Fabra University. She is specialized in the study of the complexity of the interactions of living systems. She currently works as a researcher at the Complex Systems Laboratory of the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park. She also runs SokoTech's DIYBioBcn lab, where she collaboratively deploys biohacking projects. The activity we developed was divided in two parts: • Welcome conference and the performance “Concert of faces” by Neil Harbisson. • Debate activity with Professor Jordi Vallverdú and the researcher Núria Conde to reflect on different aspects of transhumanism. Furthermore, for those groups who wanted to continue working in the classroom, they created a complementary material in order to give continuity to the activity once finished. It is a dossier with a game proposal: a role-play activity to promote debate in the school using cards. This game together with all the resources created can be accessed through the Esplora website. Results and impacts from the project resources: Throughout the science café events, youths had the opportunity to meet with various STEM professionals, and this eventually helps in increasing more awareness of STEM careers and how relevant STEM is in today's world. They were able to discuss and inquire about technology related questions knowing that they are speaking with experts in the field. Encouraging the promotion of STEAM disciplines and associating the centres with Art topics and artistic practices imply transversal learnings that have a high value for the youths in terms of future. The resources delivered gave the opportunity to reflect about contemporary and philosophical themes, such as the future of science and the human species or bioethics, which are key to the development and the promotion of critical thinking of young people. Through these interactive resources the partners also wanted to bring the opportunity to reflect individually and globally about their relationship with technology and the implications it can have on society, which has been also an accomplished objective. On the other hand, giving rise to having direct contact with scientists, artists and professionals from other disciplines has been achieved. Another goal initially proposed was the promotion of art as a tool of knowledge, not just as a tool for dissemination. In this case, the artistic performance was highly interesting for the target audiences. Project partners successfully managed to address such topics with scientific rigor and putting science at the service of society, which is one of the main goals of science centres. The projects' result can be used as a basis for a future similar project. Therefore, it can be used for further continuation of study in this field.