Today sees the start of a brand new BBC hands-on science TV series, Bang Goes
the Theory. From climbing a building using a vacuum cleaner to trying to enter the
space race, Bang Goes the Theory will discover and challenge the scientific principles
that shape our world. A key feature of the show is an exciting
interactive website. Alongside content from the broadcast and experiments you
can do at home, is a science Q&A fronted by one of the shows presenters, Dr Yan
Wong. Here questions from members of the public are answered by university researchers
from the Beacons for Public Engagement and the Open University.
Beacons for Public Engagement is a £9.2 million project, funded by Research Councils
UK, the Higher Education Funding Councils and Wellcome Trust. The initiative aims
to help support, recognise, reward and build capacity for public engagement in the
UK’s HE sector. There are six university-based collaborative centres (the Beacons)
and one National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE).
This unique partnership with the BBC has been established by the NCCPE. The NCCPE
has created an interactive space where academics from the Beacons and the OU can
come together to view the questions that have been asked, and to contribute their
answers. Questions can be answered in text, film or text and image. As this online
community works together university researchers will develop skills and experience,
making their answers more accessible to a wide range of people. In addition, the
NCCPE is funding workshops to allow individual Beacons to create audio visual content
for the Bang Goes the Theory website. These workshops will enable students to develop
skills in filming answers to the questions from the website in a professional and
engaging way.
Further information on the NCCPE and Beacons can be found at
www.publicengagement.ac.uk
Notes
Contact:
Chloë Somers
RCUK Press Officer
Tel: 01793 444592
Research Councils UK is the strategic partnership of the UK's seven Research
Councils; they invest annually around £3 billion in research, covering the full
spectrum of academic disciplines from the medical and biological sciences to astronomy,
physics, chemistry and engineering, social sciences, economics, and the arts and
humanities.
The seven UK Research Councils are:
- Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC);
- Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC);
- Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC);
- Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC);
- Medical Research Council (MRC);
- Natural Environment Research Council (NERC);
- Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC).