Perhaps we
can all set out on a journey of scientific discovery
I've always found it deeply frustrating, not to say irritating, that people
in the UK tend to use the word 'culture' as a synonym for 'the arts'.
Culture, it seems to me, covers the sum total of human creativity. And
if our ancestors had not turned their creative minds to discovering the
world around them and developing new technologies, our cultural heritage
would still be limited to a few paintings on the walls of caves.
So I was very pleased when Oxford Inspires included events with a scientific
theme in its bid for the European Capital of Culture 2008. We didn't get
the top spot, but as a runner up Oxford can proudly call itself a Centre
of Culture. And science features prominently in the events currently taking
place in Evolving City and in Oxford Inspires' plans for a countywide
festival in 2007.
There's plenty to draw on. Three of Oxford University's five academic
divisions are concerned with science or medicine: it has the largest chemistry
department in Europe, and a new Centre for Gene Function opened recently
by James Watson, co-discoverer of DNA. Many of Oxford Brookes University's
scientists have top-level expertise in practical areas such as brewing
and environmental planning.
A nationally important group of research institutions has developed south
of Oxford at the Culham and Rutherford Appleton laboratories, tackling
the problems of future energy supplies, space research and other branches
of 'big physics'.
All the creativity feeds into local business: Oxfordshire has one of the
highest concentrations of high-tech companies anywhere in Europe. With
heavy industry in decline, these smart start-ups—some of them anyway—will
turn into the growth industries of the future and fuel the local economy.
How can Oxford's citizens feel part of all this? 'Public engagement with
science' is something Oxford Inspires takes seriously—but what does
it mean? Science has an image problem that I think has something to do
with its remoteness from everyday experience. Painters, dancers, musicians,
actors and other artistic types present their work to an audience—you
might or might not like it, but you have an opportunity to experience
it.
Scientists don't need an audience in quite the same way. Very few become
household names, though with Richard Dawkins and Susan Greenfield, Oxford
does quite well, and they become famous by talking and writing about science,
not by doing it. What's needed are places where scientists and the public
can get together and share the excitement of scientific discovery, wonder
at the beauty of the natural world or debate developments in new technology.
Oxford's museums and other organisations such as the Botanic Garden and
the Northmoor Trust are getting better and better at providing these opportunities,
especially for families and children. The Oxford Trust has taken a lead
with its annual science festival, its hands-on science centre (Curioxity)
and its programme of public science. It has plans for a stylish new cultural
venue in the city with science as its focus. Maybe, with Oxford Inspires
to encourage us, we can all set out on a journey of scientific discovery.
Georgina Ferry
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