Engaging in humorous conversation: “Poly’s Tour in Sydney”

By Jaquelen Huang – A ‘Science and Humour’ Project (SCOM2006, 2024)

“Poly’s Tour in Sydney” is a creative educational cartoon exploring the impacts of plastic pollution on Australian wildlife and landscapes. The cartoon aims to engage young-aged children by presenting scientific information humorously. Through combining anthropomorphism, wordplay and visual humour in insightful conversations and educational scenes about environmental science, complex scientific concepts are designed to be more approachable and relatable. This project makes the topic more accessible and engaging for children, while at the same time raising environmental awareness and encouraging behavioural change towards the environment.

Jasper’s Journey

By Amirah Farrell – A ‘Science & Humour’ Project (SCOM6006, 2024)

Jasper’s Journey is a storybook written for children aged 5-7, inspired by my background in geomorphology, and my young nephews and niece. Rocks and landforms surround us, but the way they got there is an abstract topic that is difficult to communicate – especially to children. Jasper’s Journey uses humour and visual narrative overcome this barrier. In doing so, it provides a pathway for young children to more enjoyable engagement with science, as well as an understanding of some of the complex processes that shape our landscapes.

Comedy for Conservation

By Emilie McKenna – A ‘Science and Humour’ Project (SCOM2006, 2023)

In a time when environmental issues and climate change science are becoming increasingly essential yet difficult to understand, effective communication and education methods are crucial. As such, I created a short nature documentary that employs anthropomorphism and wordplay humour to explore the impact of climate change on Australian animals. This is a creative tool for engaging audiences with wildlife conservation and climate change science.

Improving Laboratory Safety Instruction with Audio-visual Humour

By Tammy Armour – A ‘Science and Humour” Project (SCOM6006, 2023)

Microbiology students handle lots of potentially harmful organisms during prac classes. It is important that safety instructions are followed to reduce the risk of harming themselves or the community. Currently at ANU we give a 10min safety lecture before each class which results in anecdotally low compliance. Drawing on humour theories and science communication research on humour, the aim for my SCOM6006 project was to develop a better vehicle to demonstrate one specific aspect of our health and safety program – inappropriate mobile phone use.

Correcting Critter Misconceptions with Comics

By Dr Emma Rehn – A ‘Science & Humour’ Project (SCOM6006, 2022)

Comics have great potential as science communication tools, with most research to date has focused on comics in educational settings with some work on comics for public engagement with science. This creative project builds on a growing field of research into humorous comics for science communication, particularly when combined with social media to increase audience reach.

Critical Thinking and Enacting Innovation

By Sarah Barnes – ‘Enacting Innovation’ Internship Project (SCOM6004, 2023)

This project takes the insights from the interdisciplinary conference “Enacting Innovation: Scientific and Technological Objects animated in Performance from Ancient Greek and Rome to the Present Day” (Oct 2023) to the next level. Stay tuned – more coming soon!