Science Storytelling pilot project aims:- Engage rural Welsh communities to build science capital Science capital encompasses a person's science-related qualifications, understanding, knowledge, interest and social contact. The extent of one's science capital can dictate aspirations related to scientific pursuits, not just for those exposed to science, but for their families as well (according to the Science Aspirations and Career Choice: Age 10-14 (ASPIRES) project). This project will utilise a communications channel that has a traditional presence in Welsh society to bring science and its discoveries to individuals in rural communities that do not typically have access to science programming. By engaging these communities it is hoped that participants will take on an improved understanding of the role of science in their lives and spark their interest in engaging further with science and thereby build science capital within their homes and communities. Stimulate an interest in science for unengaged participants broadly Beyond reaching rural Welsh communities, by utilising the existing cultural medium of storytelling this project will bring together diverse groups across Welsh society that are engaged in the storytelling community but may not be engaged with science. This provides an opportunity to reach new audiences with scientific programming. By reaching unengaged groups it is hoped that the programme will stimulate an interest in these groups to learn more about the topics presented or to attend other science focused events in the future. Empower scientists to communicate their research to non-technical audiences Scientists have amazing stories to tell, but they are often deterred from engaging those outside of their field or discipline as science is frequently depicted as unintelligible to non-specialists. The informal atmosphere of science storytelling provides a unique and exciting platform through which scientists can reach new audiences and foster connections with attendees and contributors. It is envisioned that by utilising science storytelling and providing training for participants, this project will increase the confidence of our speakers from the science community to share their message with a wider audience and encourage them to take part in other science communications events in the future, further spreading their work.

This new play about women and astronomy will be on a UK tour from June 2013. STELLA tells the story of two female astronomers: Caroline Herschel from the C18th and Jessica Bell, a fictional radio astronomer from the C21st: Jess, a lecturer at University College, London is invited to write about her favourite female astronomer from the past and so, Jess arrives in Bath to research the life of Caroline Herschel. The action of this piece unfolds as a double narrative: two women from different times simultaneously inhabit the same house in Bath. The intention is for our audience, whilst engaged emotionally in the personal challenges of both astronomers, to perhaps consider {consciously or even subconsciously} the concept of Time and Space. The character of Jess also offers a contemporary insight into the Herschel legacy which undoubtedly enriched the study of later astronomers and cosmologists. The premise of the play is that Caroline's concern for the astronomers of the future was a passionate driving force that fed into the rigor and exactitude of both her observations and her charts.This theme of Past and Future is fundamental to the play: we learn that Jess' daughter, in the midst of the Arab Spring, has become an intern at the new Library of Alexandria - and so the memory of Hypatia {350AD to 415AD}, the very first female astronomer, also ripples through the piece. Ultimately by linking the role of women through the ages with the study of the universe, we hope to show that the search for understanding and truth is the meeting point for all women, men, scientists and artists, and that this meeting point deepens our experience of the world we live in and nourishes the human psyche; that the challenges of the female astronomer are relevant to all women " the audience choked on the bared emotions and the wonderment of people seeing deep space for the first time" The Guardian, John Vidal on STELLA'S performed reading in May 2012. Our tour includes Greenwich Theatre, The Old Market in Brighton, The Mill at Guildford's Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, The Rose Kingston, BT Studio at Oxford Playhouse and Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough. At present, we are touring to eleven venues, with an expected total of twenty performances and an audience total of 2,320. However if funding is achieved from the STFC, we will be able to expand STELLA'S tour considerably; we hope to play at least two festivals this Summer and already have strong interest from theatres for the Autumn.

In the UK, as in virtually every developed country, it is widely accepted that we need more people studying and working at all levels in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). STEM industries are vital elements of the UK economy and are predicted to expand relative to other fields. But there is a widespread consensus that there is a STEM skills gap and that this gap is growing with fears that the predicted lack of appropriately qualified STEM graduates and workers with STEM technical skills will impact negatively on the UK economy. There is also a widely accepted case for the need to broaden the gender, ethnic and social class profile of those who study STEM post-16, particularly in the physical sciences. It is therefore a matter of urgency for research to understand the factors affecting STEM participation and the reasons why many young people choose not to study these subjects post-16. This study ('ASPIRES2') will extend the unique dataset developed by the first ASPIRES study (RES-179-25-0008), which tracked the development of young people's science and career aspirations from age 10-14. ASPIRES1 surveyed over 9,000 children when they were in primary school (age 10/11) and then conducted further surveys when the cohort reached secondary school (surveying 5,600 students at age 12/13 and c.5000 at age 13/14). Alongside the surveys, researchers longitudinally tracked a group of children and their parents, conducting interviews with 92 young people and 78 parents in Year 6,following them up again in Year 8 and 9. The new study aims to understand how young people develop their science and career aspirations over the next important five years of their lives (from age 14-19). It will explore changing influences of the family, school, careers education and social identities and inequalities on these young people's science and career aspirations and, crucially, will relate these to their actual subject choices and attainment in national GCSE examinations and their post-16 choices. This tracking of young people's aspirations and educational outcomes comprises the vital 'final link' in our tracking of this cohort. To achieve this goal, the project will conduct two surveys with a nationally representative sample of c.7-10,000 students per sweep. The students will be drawn from the same age cohort as the previous ASPIRES survey, and will be conducted when students are in Year 11 (age 15/16) and Year 13 (age 17/18). This will provide us with an authoritative picture of the developing views of young people from age 10-19. Interviews will also be conducted in Year 11 and Year 13 with c.80 students and 60 of their parents, all of whom have been previously tracked by the researchers from Year 6. We will also statistically analyse national datasets for those who took part in the very first survey (Y6), to explore how early attitudes and/or factors may relate to later outcomes (e.g. GCSE attainment, post-16 choices). The project will collaborate with two science organisations (the Institute of Physics and the Science Council) to develop ways of engaging families and young people with key project messages around STEM careers. Collaboration 1 will focus on translating project messages for parent audiences, via social and popular media formats (e.g. through a series of articles placed in the popular print media such as supermarket magazines and by using Twitter and social networking sites). Collaboration 2 will develop an 'app' (computer application software) to develop an interactive quiz that can convey key project messages to young people in an engaging, interactive format. We also hope to enlist the help of schools and science teachers to promote the use of this app among students. ASPIRES2 addresses the urgent need for a deeper understanding of how student aspirations are shaped, offering a unique opportunity to extend existing knowledge from 10-19, through key points in students' educational careers.

In the UK, as in virtually every developed country, it is widely accepted that we need more people studying and working at all levels in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). STEM industries are vital elements of the UK economy and are predicted to expand relative to other fields. But there is a widespread consensus that there is a STEM skills gap and that this gap is growing with fears that the predicted lack of appropriately qualified STEM graduates and workers with STEM technical skills will impact negatively on the UK economy. There is also a widely accepted case for the need to broaden the gender, ethnic and social class profile of those who study STEM post-16, particularly in the physical sciences. It is therefore a matter of urgency for research to understand the factors affecting STEM participation and the reasons why many young people choose not to study these subjects post-16. This study ('ASPIRES2') will extend the unique dataset developed by the first ASPIRES study (RES-179-25-0008), which tracked the development of young people's science and career aspirations from age 10-14. ASPIRES1 surveyed over 9,000 children when they were in primary school (age 10/11) and then conducted further surveys when the cohort reached secondary school (surveying 5,600 students at age 12/13 and c.5000 at age 13/14). Alongside the surveys, researchers longitudinally tracked a group of children and their parents, conducting interviews with 92 young people and 78 parents in Year 6,following them up again in Year 8 and 9. The new study aims to understand how young people develop their science and career aspirations over the next important five years of their lives (from age 14-19). It will explore changing influences of the family, school, careers education and social identities and inequalities on these young people's science and career aspirations and, crucially, will relate these to their actual subject choices and attainment in national GCSE examinations and their post-16 choices. This tracking of young people's aspirations and educational outcomes comprises the vital 'final link' in our tracking of this cohort. To achieve this goal, the project will conduct two surveys with a nationally representative sample of c.7-10,000 students per sweep. The students will be drawn from the same age cohort as the previous ASPIRES survey, and will be conducted when students are in Year 11 (age 15/16) and Year 13 (age 17/18). This will provide us with an authoritative picture of the developing views of young people from age 10-19. Interviews will also be conducted in Year 11 and Year 13 with c.80 students and 60 of their parents, all of whom have been previously tracked by the researchers from Year 6. We will also statistically analyse national datasets for those who took part in the very first survey (Y6), to explore how early attitudes and/or factors may relate to later outcomes (e.g. GCSE attainment, post-16 choices). The project will collaborate with two science organisations (the Institute of Physics and the Science Council) to develop ways of engaging families and young people with key project messages around STEM careers. Collaboration 1 will focus on translating project messages for parent audiences, via social and popular media formats (e.g. through a series of articles placed in the popular print media such as supermarket magazines and by using Twitter and social networking sites). Collaboration 2 will develop an 'app' (computer application software) to develop an interactive quiz that can convey key project messages to young people in an engaging, interactive format. We also hope to enlist the help of schools and science teachers to promote the use of this app among students. ASPIRES2 addresses the urgent need for a deeper understanding of how student aspirations are shaped, offering a unique opportunity to extend existing knowledge from 10-19, through key points in students' educational careers.

Storytelling is an innate human need. It is how we make sense of our lives and plan out our futures. Yet too often the public is expected to engage with environmental topics like climate change in a way that runs counter to that inner narrative drive. Facts and graphs act as barriers rather than enablers to understanding. The vitally important story of climate change becomes a closed book, giving those with an interest in denying the science and its implications a space to operate unchallenged. Citizens become disillusioned and disenfranchised, unable to grapple with a problem that affects all our futures. To overcome these barriers to mutual understanding and positive engagement we propose a new model for public engagement that takes advantage of the story telling expertise of the arts, including theatre, fiction, poetry, music and visual media. Working collaboratively with communities and experts of many kinds we will unlock the creative potential within all of us to elaborate effective and empowering narratives of change and mutual understanding. To achieve such collaboration scientists will have to experience their own creative narrative of change. As outlined in the 2014 report from University College, London entitled "Time for Change" authored by project Co-I Prof. Chris Rapley, environmental scientists need to become proficient story tellers themselves if they are to become effective and powerful communicators. Our consortium brings together a group of expert practitioners across disciplinary boundaries with a proven track record of creative public engagement and outreach capabilities. We also contain the necessary research and evaluation skills needed to gather the evidence and assess the capabilities of the new model of engagement that we will co-develop with community groups. While our activities are Devon based, our consortium is well placed through its project partners to develop a wider programme of activities at a national level, thereby enabling the development of a subsequent proposal for the second stage of the Engaging Environments Call. Since storytelling skills are universal our model can equally well serve other contemporary environmental issues as well as climate change such as marine degradation or air pollution.