Dr. Rob Appleby (University of Manchester)

There is a large public interest in topics like the Large Hadron Collider, particle accelerators and astronomy, and the need for effective communication has never been greater.

As scientists we need communication to speak to our range of audiences, to collaborate with each other and to attract the very best to our field. The vast majority of our science is primarily communicated to students and the wider public using visual methods and, as a result, visually impaired audiences of all ages often have difficulty accessing the scientific communication and may not be culturally involved in the scientific progress. Tactile Collider has developed new methods of engaging visually impaired children and adults in accelerator science by the creation of the Tactile Collider model, giving a framework for the effective communication of science to all audiences. This model has been developed with VI experts and consultations and implemented in a UK touring event called Tactile Collider, focusing on the LHC and visiting VI schools and centres around the country in 2018-2020. This talk discusses the need for communication in science, describes the Tactile Collider model, shows how it was implemented in live events and presents an event evaluation.

Location: T125