About the dialogue activities
In collaboration with the partner universities, the dialogue activities were developed by the UK Association for Science and Discovery Centres (ASDC) in collaboration with three UK science centres:
- Intech in Winchester
- The Centre for Life in Newcastle
- The Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) in Manchester
The events were aimed at adults (aged 20 – 40-year olds) and young people (7 – 14-year olds).
Soundscapes (20–40 year olds)
The soundscape activity involves participants making use of structured resources to discuss the effects of noise in the environment. The materials are less structured than with a school-age audience and designed to stimulate discussions.
Having delivered the Soundscapes event in three science centres across the UK (the Museum of Science and Industry [MOSI] in Manchester; the Centre for Life in Newcastle and Intech in Winchester), we discovered that the most effective way of reaching 20 – 40-year olds (traditionally considered a ‘difficult’ age group to reach) is to engage them as part of a family group with their children. ASDC therefore recommends that events are tailored around this idea.
The activities include:
- Being aware of, and considering sounds in your environment
- Taking a sound walk
- Explaining the science behind sound and acoustics
- Identifying links between sounds
- Designing a positive soundscape
Young people and hearing damage (8–14 year olds)
The main outcome of this event is for the participants to come up with a public health warning to their peers about the dangers of loud music. There are many links with the curriculum in both science and citizenship areas.
The activities include:
- Thinking about how loud different sounds are and how we hear sounds.
- Discussions about what sounds are good and bad, e.g. a dawn chorus; a busy city centre and the inside of a cafe. They could then think about whether their feeling about the sound changes when they are given more information.
- What makes a noise dangerous?
- What is hearing damage? This includes an activity that demonstrates what hearing damage is like by using modified recording of railway announcements. Participants also have the opportunity to design their own set of ear-plugs.
- Designing a public service announcement to inform other young people of the dangers of hearing damage.