Science helps power our world in so many ways: improving our technology, protecting our health and connecting us to our friends and family around the world.
To help make science more relatable, AAAS programs connect scientists and the public, demystify science and highlight the many benefits that scientific discoveries bring us.
Some AAAS programs create opportunities to start a lifelong interest in science. Among AAAS’ many educational programs is Science in the Summer, which offers free, hands-on summer programming to children to teach them about science through the lens of a subject they are interested in, such as sports or space. Family Science Days, a longtime component of the AAAS Annual Meeting, introduces children and their families to a diverse group of scientists through hands-on demonstrations and face-to-face conversations.
Other programs train a diverse set of scientists – and science enthusiasts – to share and translate knowledge in a way that reaches new audiences and kickstarts dialogue about the role of science in our world.
The AAAS Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellowship, for instance, places scientists in newsrooms to work as journalists for a summer, equipping them with the tools they need to share clear, relatable science news to readers, viewers and listeners around the country.
Among the many projects carried out by AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics and Religion, which aims to forge connections among scientists and religious audiences, is Science for Seminaries, in which seminarians learn about science as part of their training to help them foster conversations about science with their future congregations.
Other AAAS fellowship programs, such as the Leshner Leadership Institute for Public Engagement with Science and the AAAS Science & Technology Fellowships, prepare scientists to make science relevant, timely and relatable. Other programs, such as the Local Science Engagement Network and the Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues, make science relatable as they shape science policy or advocate for the importance of scientific evidence.
As AAAS carries out its goals of fostering science and technology education for all ages, increasing public engagement with science and enhancing communications between scientists, engineers and the public, it is guided by a powerful mission that makes science more relatable: advancing science, engineering and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all people.
[Associated image: Carla Schaffer/AAAS]