New Swedish films to help explain science

What is science? This is the title of VA (Public & Science)’s new project, which uses animated film clips to explain to children and young people what research actually is.

The pilot film ”What is Science?” with English subtitles

”This is really important for us. Children and young people need to know what science involves so that they will become engaged citizens, who can think critically,” says Leif Busk, a scientific expert at the Swedish National Food Administration, which was involved in the pilot film project.

Science and technology affects an increasingly large part of our everyday lives. We all need a basic understanding of what science is in order to understand research-related issues and scientific arguments. This ranges from being able to interpret the news to being able to take informed decisions, for example on health and environmental issues.

The aim of the project What is science? is to increase the scientific understanding and skills of the general public, particularly young people, through a series of short film clips.

The scientific tower

The project seeks to stimulate children’s and young people’s ability to evaluate information about research and science. The overall aim is to help equip young people with the skills needed to explore, understand and change the world around them.

In the pilot film, science is described as a tower, where new bricks are built on top of the old ones, and where scientific knowledge needs to be investigated and tested to ensure the construction is sound.

”The film clips will hopefully contribute to an intuitive understanding of science and research. We’re aiming for light-hearted and easy to understand, without compromising the hard facts,” says Fredrik Brounéus, Project Manager at VA (Public & Science).

Discussion aids for teachers

Work is on-going to find additional partners to join the project and to produce more films, for example, about the history of science, how to become a researcher, different scientific disciplines and types of studies, research funding, statistics, and how the publishing process works. The idea is that teachers should also be able to use the clips in their teaching to aid discussion.

If you would like to know more about the project or are interested in participating, please contact the Project Manager, Fredrik Brounéus.