The Department of Science Communication

Our very own MSciComm student, Aislinn Mirsch, is co-leading an improv workshop for the NZ Science Festival – "Storytelling for Scientists". If you're keen to play some games and hone your skills in thinking on your feet, grab a ticket from scifest.org.nz! The workshop is on Wednesday the 10th from 5-6pm at the H.D. Skinner Annex, finishing in time to get to our film premiere at Rialto. 😀
https://scifest.org.nz/programme/storytelling-for-scientists-using-improvisation

Storytelling for Scientists: using improvisation to improve communication | NZ Science Festival Unlock the power of improvisation to enhance your scientific communication!

Check out the trailer for the University of Otago's Department of Science Communication Student Film Premiere 2024. Come see the full show at Dunedin's Rialto Cinemas from 7:30pm, Wednesday 10 July 2024. Tickets at scifest.org.nz

It’s a big night on the big screen as we roll out the red carpet for the last time to celebrate the final cohort of the phenomenal science and natural history film students from the University of Otago’s Science Communication programme.

We are excited to kick off this year’s New Zealand International Science Festival by bringing you an extraordinary slate of films that explore stories of science, technology, nature and culture. Take a deep dive into the ethics of wildlife films and artificial intelligence and learn how the magic of extended reality is bringing a marae to the community. We’ll find inspiration in the resilient Māori communities rising to meet the challenges of climate change and travel to the beautiful island of Rēkohu to learn from our Indigenous Moriori who are in the midst of a flourishing cultural renaissance.

Through superb storytelling and stunning cinematography, these films will knock you in the heart, ignite your curiosity and expand your mind. We’ll see you there!https://youtu.be/hp3bEyTbob0

Department of Science Communication Student Film Premiere 2024 Trailer for the University of Otago's Department of Science Communication Student Film Premiere 2024, which is being held as part of the New Zealand Internat...

We really have been fortunate to share the Department's last couple of years with such talented students. From Filmmaking student, Stephanie Guest:
"This year I was able to celebrate with the release of "Guardian of the Sea Lions" on Ecoflix! As my first film that I have led from start to finish, and one without funding at that, I didn't think I could dream so big as to have it screen in cinemas across the globe, eventually coming to a streaming platform dedicated to stories for impact. The short documentary follows the story of an 83 year-old volunteer to show that nothing is stopping you from making a change.

It was a pleasure creating this film with another student, Shania Riethmann, amazing volunteers and organisations like the New Zealand Sea Lion Trust and the Ocean Media Institute.

Coming up to the last weeks of my masters degree, I look forward to announcing news of my latest film with two other filmmakers, "Looking Up", and finishing my last project for my studies.

The FINAL evening of phenomenal films produced by the University of Otago’s Science Communication Master’s students.

Lights. . . Camera. . . SCIENCE! Join us for a night to delight at the Rialto!

It’s a big night on the big screen as we roll out the red carpet for the last time to celebrate the final cohort of the phenomenal science and natural history film students from the University of Otago’s Science Communication programme.

This event will kick off this year’s New Zealand International Science Festival with an extraordinary slate of films that explore stories of science, technology, nature and culture. Take a deep dive into the ethics of wildlife films and artificial intelligence and learn how the magic of extended reality is bringing a marae to the community. We’ll find inspiration in the resilient Māori communities rising to meet the challenges of climate change and travel to the beautiful island of Rēkohu to learn from our Indigenous Moriori who are in the midst of a flourishing cultural renaissance.

Through superb storytelling and stunning cinematography, these films will knock you in the heart, ignite your curiosity and expand your mind. We’ll see you there!

Lights, Camera, Science! SciComm Student Film Premiere | NZ Science Festival The FINAL evening of phenomenal films produced by the University of Otago’s Science Communication Master’s students.

Tūhura Otago Museum provides engaging science communication for visitors of all ages. This funding from DCC will help it continue to do so.

Feeling the love. Thank you so much Dunedin, Otago, and the Dunedin City Council. The incredible outpouring of support and submissions to the council helped us secure the funding we need to continue offering free events, educational programs, and galleries. We are deeply committed to our community, and we work tirelessly to provide you with as many opportunities as possible. Thank you for standing with us. We are truly grateful for each and every one of you!

Apologies for another late notice of another presentation by another science communication student!

Mirjana Moffat will give a talk at the Dunedin Hospital this Thursday 30th May 2024 at 5.15pm. Mirjana's talk is on medieval medical practice in Italy and Rosie's talk today is on New Zealand entering the space race. At least we can't be faulted for having been too specialised!

Florence, late 14th – 15th Century
Health Care, Doctors, and Medical Training
Presented by Mirjana Moffat
Barnett Lecture Theatre
First Floor Dunedin Hospital

The black plague of 1348 decimated the population of Florence, creating a medical profession crisis. With a low number of practicing physicians who survived the plague and the influx of medical immigrants, people had little faith in their skills and treatment efficiency. With continuous emergence of new epidemics, particularly in 1399-1400, the government of Republic of Florence, the Signoria, had to act quickly.

What was the role of the Guild of Doctors, Apothecaries, and Spice Merchants? Why were the painters a part of the Guild? How was the reputation of medical doctors restored? What was the medical curriculum like? How did Florence rise from the aftermath of the plague to a progressive society that became a role model for many countries in Europe? The talk will provide an insight into early Renaissance medical practice in Florence, the health care institutions, and the contribution of the most powerful Florentine families to health and well being of its citizens.

We're so proud of Paulina Barry who has painted this amazing mural as the creative component of her MSciComm. A talented student in a talented cohort. You can see Paulina's work in person if you're in Dunedin. It's on the side of the Benham Building, part of Department of Zoology, University of Otago, on Albany St between Great King St and George St.

Exciting news: the podcast, Tune into Nature with Karthic, has been chosen as a finalist for the NZ Radio and Podcast Awards! https://www.rba.co.nz/nz-radio-and-podcast-awards/watch-live
Catch up on Seasons 1 and 2 of Tune into Nature https://www.karthicss.com/podcast And listen out for Season 3 coming up on Otago Access Radio https://oar.org.nz/tune-in-to-nature/
KarthicSS (PGDipSciComm– Filmmaking) produces Tune into Nature with support from OAR and grants to Nancy Longnecker from Otago Regional Council's EcoFund and Lotteries Environmental Heritage Fund.
Well done, Karthic

TONIGHT at 6pm! Come out to Tūhura Otago Museum and celebrate our fabulous students at this FREE film screening as part of Wild Dunedin!

Sci-Comm Student Films: Meet the Filmmakers (Sold Out) — Wild Dunedin Enjoy three short nature documentaries and hear from the student filmmakers from Otago’s Department of Science Communication.

Underbirds: The Fight to Save the Southern New Zealand Dotterel by students at University of Otago. Underbirds: The Fight to Save the Southern New Zealand Dotterel is the story of the challenges and struggles that the Southern New Zealand Dotterel face to s...

Can social media make a difference in snow leopard conservation? How do cultural differences impact conservation storytelling? Here’s your chance to share your thoughts!

PhD student Yang Yu from SciComm is researching the intersection of wildlife conservation and social media. Your input can help enhance our understanding of conservation communication. Take a quick survey to contribute:
https://otago.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eM6u0kYRcVap5NI

It is great to see the creative component of Paulina Barry's MSciComm thesis project taking flight. Those in Dunedin can stop by the Albany St side of the Department of Zoology, University of Otago Benham Building to see the work in progress. It is amazing to watch.
Well done, Paulina!
Paulina's work is supported by SciComm, Dept of Zoology, Dulux and many friends and family via a Givealittle.

So far Ive painted the bases of the New Zealand crow, SI kokako, NI piopio, black swan, north island goose, nz little bittern, and parts of the moa!

Dunedinites, consider joining the Friends of Tūhura Otago Museum. Here's what your membership brings:

Exclusive events and behind-the-scenes tours
Access to the Friends’ Room
Discounts at the Museum Shop and Planetarium
Volunteer opportunities

Annual Membership Options: Individual: $50, Household: $75, Student/Beneficiary: Only $20

RNZ's Our Changing World has regularly featured podcasts produced by our talented science communication students. This started after Jenny Rock asked Alison Ballance to share her expertise with students in her paper and continued most recently with Fabien Medvecky and Claire Concannon. Thanks to Our Changing World for this opportunity. You can listen here to podcasts by Jodie Evans and Janice Huang, produced with assistance from Steve Ting.

Summer science: Hybrid wildlife and mātauranga Māori Should we intervene to prevent hybridisation between an endangered species and its common relative? In this week's summer science episode, two students from the Department of Science Communication at the University of Otago tell stories of science controversy: the conservation conundrum of hybrids,....

For listening pleasure and holiday relaxation, meet some of Aotearoa New Zealand’s unique wildlife and listen to stories of kaitiaki, people working to protect nature. Tune into Nature is a podcast that features natural soundscapes recorded in wild places.

Produced by talented scicomm graduate, KarthicSS. Season 2 of Tune into Nature is funded by a Lotteries Environmental Heritage grant to Prof Nancy Longnecker.

Hear about Aotearoa’s endangered and lesser known reptiles in Episode 2, broadcast 9am Saturday 23 Dec on Otago Access Radio 105.4 FM. Listen to new episodes in Season 2 and catch up on episodes from Season 1 (produced with a grant from Otago Regional Council's EcoFund).

Tune into Nature - OAR FM Dunedin Every second Saturday @ 9amReplayed 10 days later on Tuesdays @ 2pm Wildlife filmmaker and podcast producer Karthic SS presents series 2 of Tune Into Nature. Meet some of Aotearoa New Zealand’s unique wildlife and listen to the stories of the kaitiaki, the people working to protect nature. This un...

For your listening pleasure, tune in to Otago Access Radio (105.4) to hear Glimpses of Gold, a broadcast/ podcast produced by Celia Lie in her studies for SCOM406 SciComm Strategies & Resources. Podcast available now at: https://oar.org.nz/glimpses-of-gold/

Curious about her own cultural past, Celia embarks on a journey to learn more about what life was like for early Chinese settlers in Aotearoa New Zealand.

“Glimpses of Gold” takes a look at Otago’s early Chinese gold-mining community. In this episode, Celia talks to Dr Charlotte King about what bioarchaeological science has uncovered about the lives of early Chinese gold-miners, and to Mr Leslie Wong about Chinese beliefs on the after-life.

This episode was written and produced by Celia Lie, a postgraduate Science Communication student at the University of Otago, under the guidance of Professor Nancy Longnecker, with technical support from Teaching Fellow Steve Ting.

For more information about the Southern Cemeteries Archaeology Project, visit www.southernsettlerarchaeology.com.

Hutton Theatre, Tūhura Otago Museum
Talk by visiting artist, Tiare Ribeaux.

Tiare Ribeaux, is a Kanaka 'Ōiwi filmmaker, artist and creative producer based in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. Her work involves a magical realist exploration of spirituality, labour, and the natural environment, drawing upon the structure of dreamworlds and Hawaiian cosmology to critique both social and ecological imbalances.

Her films use visual narrative storytelling and components of speculative fiction and fantasy to reimagine both our present realities and future trajectories of lineage, q***rness, place and belonging. Her work often combines with installation elements to create immersive and expanded media experiences. As a curator and producer, she founded B4BEL4B Gallery in 2014 as a platform and community space to prioritize underrepresented + q***r artists in media arts, where she was the artistic director for 8 years. She co-founded REFRESH Art, Science, and Technology in 2017, curated the Soundwave Biennial in San Francisco in 2016, and was artistic director for the CODAME Festival in 2015.

Part of Tiare's visit to Dunedin will be to lead a series of workshops for Creative Impact Labs' selected participants. Creative Impact Lab Dunedin is a Leonardo international exchange supported by the U.S. Embassy in Wellington and hosted by Tūhura Otago Museum.

Submissions are still open for those wanting to attend this year's Creative Impact Lab. There are a few spaces available in the associated workshops.

Creative Impact Lab — Ōtepoti Dunedin: Artist Talk by Tiare Ribeaux Join us for a talk by visiting artist, Tiare Ribeaux.

Huge congratulations to Kati Doehring, PhD candidate at the Department of Science Communication and researcher at Cawthron Institute, for winning the SCANZ Emerging Science Communicator Award. It was presented at last week's SCANZ conference, for Kati's PhD project: collective storytelling as a freshwater restoration tool. We're proud of you, Kati!

This great article in today's ODT describes plans of our talented Master of Science Communication student, Paulina Barry. This amazing 15 m tall mural on the side of the Zoology Building will be the creative component of Paulina's MSciComm thesis, paying homage to New Zealand's extinct bird species and featuring the moa.
Paulina is seeking funds via Givealittle to help pay for painting supplies and scaffolding.
https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/moa-street-art

Student hopes moa mural will ‘spur action’ A University of Otago student is hopeful her ambitious mural will "spur action" in the Dunedin public. Otago University science communications...

''Dancing with Grebes' is a short film produced by our postgraduate students about the Pūteketeke Australasian crested grebe. (Also the Bird of the Century winner🏆)

The film follows lifelong conservationist John Darby ONZM and his efforts to protect Grebes at Lake Wānaka, Central Otago.
🎥 Watch the film - https://vimeo.com/884554087/c6809f1606?share=copy

🎬 Produced by Shania Riethmann, Lesley Stone and Rhys Latton for the SCOM412 paper.

Thanks to The Lake Wanaka Grebes for supporting our students for this project. ✨

Gianna Savoie Max Quinn Steve Ting

Sciences at University of Otago University of Otago

Just released! 🙏🏼This beautiful little doco about our project - called Dancing With Grebes - was made recently by three postgraduate students studying Science Communication at the University of Otago. Bravo!

https://vimeo.com/884554087/c6809f1606?share=copy
(Image by Petrina Duncan)

Thank you to the wonderful Claire Concannon and Our Changing World for featuring our MBIE funded multi-sensory research project Moriori, Music and Manawa on RNZ. This is beautiful project, co-led by the Hokotehi Moriori Trust and University of Otago researchers Gianna Savoie, Nancy Longnecker, Steve Ting, Jennifer Cattermole and Steve Mills, celebrates the true vibrancy of Moriori culture. Enormous thanks also to Moriori musician (and music lead on the project) Ajay Peni, as well as Alistair Fraser and Deborah Goomes for their contributions to this piece and to the project. Take a listen!

Helping to revitalise Moriori culture A Moriori musician, an ethnomusicologist and the Hokotehi Moriori Trust are part of a team helping to revitalise Moriori culture with 3D-printed replicas of traditional bone flutes from Rēkohu the Chatham Islands. Claire Concannon finds out more about the Moriori, music and manawa project.

Finishing up after The Last Hurrah, with friends at The Bog
photo credits: Tim Still

The Last Hurrah was indeed a wonderful celebration! It was affirming to finish up the semester and an era by sharing the work of this talented group of students.
Thanks to all of the guests who came along, including clients for SCOM406 resources, talent for SCOM412 films, friends and whānau.
Photo credits: Tim Still

Event Reminder
THE LAST HURRAH! The End of an Era Student Showcase
🗓️ Tomorrow 9 November, 2- 5pm
📍 College of Education Auditorium, 145 Union St East, Dunedin

Do join along for our Student Showcase and help us celebrate some of the fantastic work done by this year’s postgraduate SciComm students in two of our papers that will no longer be offered:
• SCOM406: Science Communication Strategies and Resources, taught by Prof Nancy Longnecker, with input from Teaching Fellow, Steve Ting
• SCOM412: Techniques of Natural History and Science Filmmaking, taught by many talented filmmakers over the years and by Max Quinn in 2023.

This student showcase will feature short films, exhibits, podcasts, stories, panels, animations, and infographics created by this year's talented SciComm students.

Friends, whānau, graduates are all welcome!

Sciences at University of Otago University of Otago

Next up on our graduate series is Conor Feehly, a Freelance Science Writer. His work has featured in New Scientist, Scientific American and other renowned publications.
Conor talks about the highlights of the SciComm course at Otago - highly experienced staff and a great community of students. He shares with us on how he’s worked his way through the challenges to become a successful freelance science writer and also has useful tips for the emerging science writers out there.

Check out some of Conor’s latest work at -
New Scientist, Feature on legacy, - https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26034600-200-the-desire-for-legacy-is-a-mental-glitch-but-we-can-use-it-for-good/

Scientific American - Feature on rogue worlds:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/can-lucky-planets-get-a-second-chance-at-life/

Nautilus - Feature on definitions of life:
https://nautil.us/will-we-know-alien-life-when-we-see-it-256501/

Kōrero by Karthic Ssk
Read more below -

Q: Tell us about your work in SciComm since you’ve graduated, and what are you currently working on?
A: Since graduating from Otago with a Masters in Science Communication I have been working as a freelance science writer for a number of different publications, including New Scientist, Discover Magazine and Scientific American. This has included writing press releases for new pieces of research, reporting on new studies, and writing long-form features which usually casts a net on a wide area of research. I tend to cover topics in astronomy/astrophysics and also in neuroscience/psychology. Aside from my usual news reporting, I'm currently developing a couple of feature stories - one on the healing role that music can play when we are experiencing grief, and another on the emergence of memory in the history of life.

Q: In what ways do you think the SciComm course at Otago helps in your work projects?
A: I certainly wouldn't be doing what I'm doing today without the SciComm course at Otago. I developed extremely valuable writing, pitching, and interviewing skills that I use on a daily basis. It also helped me build confidence to put my work 'out there' into the public realm by facilitating internships and projects where we released our work into public spaces.

Q: What was/were the best experience(s) about doing SciComm at Otago? Highlights, Anecdotes of your learning journey.
A: The community of students in my years at SciComm were really supportive. You also get to work with other people who are super talented, and who have a broad range of interests - so you get exposed to ideas and perspectives that you maybe otherwise wouldn't. Also getting to work with teachers who you respect, like Jesse, who have massive experience gives you the confidence to put yourself out there and trust your judgments. A highlight for me was working on a project which consulted with a range of community members, scientists, and city councilors (whether Dunedin should reduce its light pollution). Collating all of the information was the first real piece of journalistic work I took part in.

Q: What were the challenges you faced as a freelance Science Writer and how do you overcome/ work with it?
A: Starting out as a freelance science writer can be quite hard, as you're often cold emailing editors with your ideas and you're often getting a 'no'. That rejection can be a bit daunting when you're starting out and maybe when you're looking for validation in your early writing career. But it also helps you to sharpen your pitching skills, and editors will often give you feedback for why a pitch was or wasn't successful which gives you a better idea of what might work in the future.

Q: Any tips / hacks for the emerging Science Writer?
A: Be persistent when pitching. Even if you're not landing stories with an editor initially, you will eventually find the right piece that can get your foot in the door. If you have had a couple of published stories then you can become a registered journalist and get access to embargoed research, this way you can pitch stories to editors before the research gets made public and beat others to the punch. Try to do interviews over zoom, rather than email (even if they are on the other side of the world) - your quotes will be more conversational and will lend themselves to a better article.

Q: SciComm aside, your Interests/ Hobbies?
A: Playing the drums, travelling, and reading. Writing can be quite an all encompassing job - so you spend a lot of time reading and listening to podcasts. The funnest aspect is getting to delve into new worlds, and talking to people who have thought long and deeply about what they do. And if you're lucky you get to write about it.

University of Otago Sciences at University of Otago