Creative Visualizations of Science

An exploration of scientific discovery in visual terms as well as
how science can be creatively communicated to non-experts.

In a rapidly changing world, citizens need to be adequately informed
about science in order to make educated choices. However, few people
have sufficient time to keep up with the wide variety of developments. A
further problem is that when scientists try to communicate with the
public they typically fail to make a human/emotional connection hoping
that "the facts will speak for themselves."  Psychological research
shows that emotional engagement precedes cognitive engagement. Visual
representation can convey a great deal of information, but without the
emotional component that art has the potential to evoke, it will always
fall short.


Modern science began with Galileo;  his invention of the telescope
allowed him to see further than anyone had imagined possible.  As a true
renaissance man, he recorded his observations of mountains and craters
on the moon by painting watercolors. Since that time many leaps in
science have been spurred on by leaps in our ways of seeing the world.
The advent of microscopes brought biology to the cellular level.  Motion
pictures introduced the study of the very fast (from running horses to
explosions) and the very slow (the growth and movement of plants). In
the 20th century seeing was extending beyond the visible spectrum to
ultraviolet light, infrared light, X-rays, radio waves (radar and MRI)
and even sound waves (sonar and sonograms). The information gained
revolutionized our understanding of the world around us, including
discovering the molecular structure of DNA, monitoring the chemical
composition of the atmosphere, and finding our small place in a vast,
expanding Universe. All these visual techniques provide an intuitive way to
approach science, by letting us literally see how the world works.

Students will produce their own imaginative videos expressing responses to a
specific scientific topic as a final project while linking scientific
ideas and data with innovative visual analogies and personal narratives.

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 Public, Restricted
84 Media
2 Members
Managers
Appears In
An exploration of scientific discovery in visual terms as well as
how science can be creatively communicated to non-experts.

In a rapidly changing world, citizens need to be adequately informed
about science in order to make educated choices. However, few people
have sufficient time to keep up with the wide variety of developments. A
further problem is that when scientists try to communicate with the
public they typically fail to make a human/emotional connection hoping
that "the facts will speak for themselves."  Psychological research
shows that emotional engagement precedes cognitive engagement. Visual
representation can convey a great deal of information, but without the
emotional component that art has the potential to evoke, it will always
fall short.


Modern science began with Galileo;  his invention of the telescope
allowed him to see further than anyone had imagined possible.  As a true
renaissance man, he recorded his observations of mountains and craters
on the moon by painting watercolors. Since that time many leaps in
science have been spurred on by leaps in our ways of seeing the world.
The advent of microscopes brought biology to the cellular level.  Motion
pictures introduced the study of the very fast (from running horses to
explosions) and the very slow (the growth and movement of plants). In
the 20th century seeing was extending beyond the visible spectrum to
ultraviolet light, infrared light, X-rays, radio waves (radar and MRI)
and even sound waves (sonar and sonograms). The information gained
revolutionized our understanding of the world around us, including
discovering the molecular structure of DNA, monitoring the chemical
composition of the atmosphere, and finding our small place in a vast,
expanding Universe. All these visual techniques provide an intuitive way to
approach science, by letting us literally see how the world works.

Students will produce their own imaginative videos expressing responses to a
specific scientific topic as a final project while linking scientific
ideas and data with innovative visual analogies and personal narratives.

 visualization
An exploration of scientific discovery in visual terms as well as
how science can be creatively communicated to non-experts.

In a rapidly changing world, citizens need to be adequately informed
about science in order to make educated choices. However, few people
have sufficient time to keep up with the wide variety of developments. A
further problem is that when scientists try to communicate with the
public they typically fail to make a human/emotional connection hoping
that "the facts will speak for themselves."  Psychological research
shows that emotional engagement precedes cognitive engagement. Visual
representation can convey a great deal of information, but without the
emotional component that art has the potential to evoke, it will always
fall short.


Modern science began with Galileo;  his invention of the telescope
allowed him to see further than anyone had imagined possible.  As a true
renaissance man, he recorded his observations of mountains and craters
on the moon by painting watercolors. Since that time many leaps in
science have been spurred on by leaps in our ways of seeing the world.
The advent of microscopes brought biology to the cellular level.  Motion
pictures introduced the study of the very fast (from running horses to
explosions) and the very slow (the growth and movement of plants). In
the 20th century seeing was extending beyond the visible spectrum to
ultraviolet light, infrared light, X-rays, radio waves (radar and MRI)
and even sound waves (sonar and sonograms). The information gained
revolutionized our understanding of the world around us, including
discovering the molecular structure of DNA, monitoring the chemical
composition of the atmosphere, and finding our small place in a vast,
expanding Universe. All these visual techniques provide an intuitive way to
approach science, by letting us literally see how the world works.

Students will produce their own imaginative videos expressing responses to a
specific scientific topic as a final project while linking scientific
ideas and data with innovative visual analogies and personal narratives.

 Public, Restricted

84 Media
2 Members
Managers:
 John Terning
Appears In:
Undergraduate…