My science communication story is founded on my work in designing and delivering exhibits for events.

This page shares some quick notes and images from some of those events. My biggest regret was never hiring a photographer to take ‘action’ shots of my exhibits. Sadly, this means most of the photos I have were taken without public in the space and (in my opinion) do not do the exhibits justice.

Earth Arcade

The Earth Arcade was a hybrid research and outreach project I ran at the Energy & Environment Institution (EEI), University of Hull, between 2017 and 2021. I created a flexible, immersive exhibit space for use at events and festivals, housing exciting and interactive activities. Through the exhibit, researchers of the EEI engaged public audiences with their work and inspired them to take positive environmental actions.

I drew on many fields to develop the exhibit, including museology, behavioural insights, and scenography. It featured strong branding that tied into the brands of EEI and the University, and was inspired by retrowave and solarpunk styles. The exhbits commonly featured the game-based activities of my SeriousGeoGames Lab.

Freedom Festival 2019

The largest Earth Arcade I ever ran was at Hull’s Freedom Festival in 2019. We took over a large tent in the main festival site in Queen’s Gardens for two days. It featured several individual activities, including Flash Flood!, plastic under the microscope, plastic fishing, and The Forest. It was crewed by over twenty volunteers from EEI and the University’s Drama Department.

I had planned to surround the tent with several large green material banners, with the effect of bathing the space in green light. Unfortunately, the supplier printed us four of the same banner instead of individual designs and could not correct this in time. It would have looked great…

Manchester Science Festival 2018

The University was asked to by Manchester Science Festival to provide a two-day exhibit within the Science and Industry Museum, with a core theme of plastic in the environment. The Earth Arcade stepped up and delivered a four activity exhibit, including plastic fishing, plastic under the microscope, Flash Flood!, and river in a box.

The low ceilings of the historic warehouse we exhibited in created an atmospheric space. I really like how the branding worked there.

British Science Festival 2018

The British Science Festival came to Hull in 2018 and I had a great opportunity to bring the Earth Arcade to the city’s Fruit Market area. There were multiple activities across a couple of locations, including the Humber Street Gallery under Hull’s iconic Dead Bod!

Greenpower Race 2019

The Greenpower Race encourages school children to engage with STEM by building, then racing, their own electirc street races. Race meets are held in cities around the UK. As part of the 2019 race in Hull, a science tent was filled with exhibits and was open to schools and the public.

I took an Earth Arcade there featuring Flash Flood!, plastic fishing, and an early version of The Forest.

Waterline 2019

Waterline is an annual meeting in Hull that brings businesses together to ensure the city’s prosperity in the face of climate change challenges. I teamed up with Gill Hughes, the Hull we Want project, and the Environment Agency’s Humber 2100+ team to engage people with topics of flooding and sea level rise. It was the first public outing of Inundation Street.

In 2020, in the midst of Covid, the Earth Arcade brought an entirely virtual exhibit to the online Waterline meeting.

Scarborough Science Week

I love Scarborough Science Week! I exhibited there in 2018 and 2019, both three extraodinarily busy and action packed days in the town’s famous Spa complex. On 2018, I took Flash Flood!, whilst in 2019 Flash Flood! was joined with a drone flight simulator and an immersive forest soundscape! I still think there’s an owl behind me…

British Geological Society Open Day 2019

This was a small, one-day exhibit, with just one other volunteer and two sets of Flash Flood!, but it was also the last ever Earth Arcade I ran in person…

The Hulltimate Challenge 2018

The Living in Water project brought a huge obstacle course to the centre of Hull to encourage people to think about flood risk and resilience. I ran an Earth Arcade as part of an engagement tent, which conveniently got me out of running the race (and nearly drowing in Prince’s Quay!).

Hull Science Festival 2018

The first ever full Earth Arcade was held as part of the Discovery Zone at Hull Science Festival in 2018. We had several activities, including Flash Flood!, river in a box, and plastic fishing. It was a mini-festival within a festival!

Other Exhibits

Natural History Museum 2018

I got the opportunity to bring Flash Flood! to London’s Natural History Museum as part of NERC’s Operation Earth week there. The crew involved researcherd and sci-commers from Hull and Reading. I even got the chance to give a short public lecture on flash flooding in the Attenborough Studio!

One of my most memorable sci-comm experiences happened during this event. Outside there was a huge thunderstorm and a meteorologist in the crew used the screen and live radar data to explain what was happening. People loved it.