Bringing graphs from the 19th century into classrooms

It is important that people understand how science works and what results scientists do or do not find. This strengthens educated discussions and increases the appreciation for science.

Universities are the birthplace of many scientific discoveries that bring us to a more insightful future. This knowledge can be overwhelming for people who are not regularly involved in science. This is why researchers find it important to communicate their work clearly and effectively. This can be more challenging for some subjects than others, but still, many scientists step up in the field of public engagement to make science accessible to a wider audience. One of them is Marieke Gelderblom, a PhD candidate in the history of science at the Freudenthal Institute of Utrecht University. She studies the history of statistics in the 19th century.

From research to school class to museum

Marieke considers public engagement an important part of her research. “I mostly do it out of my own interest, because I think it is very important. I just think it is fun to talk with people who aren’t well-versed in science about the research I’m working on.” She joined the program Slimme Gasten (‘smart guests’), where researchers visit secondary schools to tell them about their work.

During one of these visits, Marieke got into contact with one of the employees of the University Museum Utrecht, who suggested organizing a ‘family lecture’ at the museum. This required some changes: the activities in the museum need to be suitable for children and caregivers, easy to repeat, and should fit in a timespan of 20 minutes. Museum colleague José de Wit also came up with the idea of giving the group small erasable whiteboards to write on.

Surprising insights

During her activity, Marieke talked about the evolution of graphs over the centuries, and asked questions that the children and their caregivers could answer together. Marieke learned some unexpected things during these sessions too: “Parents often already have a fixed idea of what a graph ‘should’ look like, while children approach it more freely. With 19th-century graphs, which look very different from the ones we have now, the children often had a better idea of what they were looking at.”

Lecture, workshop or coffee

For researchers that want to bring their ideas to a bigger audience, Marieke gives the advice to first thoroughly think about what you want to communicate and, just as importantly, why you want to tell that story. This helps in approaching your target group better. “I also talk to math teachers regularly. That makes sense, because they benefit from my findings. But the topics that interest them are different from those that appeal to young children.” 

Marieke emphasizes choosing a form of public engagement that feels meaningful to you. “Choose an audience and format that fit you and your interests.” This might take the form of a lecture, Q&A, discussion, workshop, or even just small talk during drinks or coffee. In this way, science becomes more accessible to people of all ages.