00:00Could you explain a complicated topic in just three minutes, using nothing but your personality,
00:05your voice and maybe even a few props?
00:08Well, for these scientists, that's exactly what they had to do at the FameLab final.
00:12In this tent behind me lies the next winner of the FameLab competition and the next trainee
00:18science communicator. But what is a science communicator? Well, they kind of act as a
00:22translator and instead of using really complicated science terminology, they will use visuals,
00:28storytelling, sometimes even humour, to make science relatable to the general public,
00:33bridging the gap between science and society. Well, the final saw chemical reactions, a plague
00:40doctor and an intergalactic poet. What pushes down must hurl us straight through and this
00:47rocket doesn't just climb, it falls too fast to stay, using just enough thrust to arc us away.
00:53All because FameLab aims to change the stereotype of the unapproachable scientist by training
00:59the next passionate and engaging voices. But for the winner, it's about more than just
01:05being approachable.
01:06The biggest limiters are access and how we say, if you can't see, you can't be. So for instance,
01:14role models. So if you can't see someone like yourself or a route in that you like, often
01:20things can feel very, very distant. We are trying to introduce creative ways to bring science
01:26to students. And two of the projects I've just started now involve introducing art and
01:32poetry. So we'll do a space activity and then space art or a space activity and then space
01:38poetry. And it's going down incredibly well with students.
01:42In front of a live audience, contestants would judge on the accuracy of their content, the
01:47clarity of their presentation and their charisma. But why do we need science communicators?
01:53Most scientists believe that communicating science is not their job. It's the job of a journalist,
01:59it's the job of someone else. But I will maintain that as a scientist, it is your job to get
02:04out
02:04of the laboratory and communicate your science and make people understand that scientific discovery
02:09is what has made the world the place it is today and given us a good quality of life.
02:14And if we want that to continue, we have to keep telling people the good that science does.
02:19After another rotation around the sun, this year's finalists show that science is more than
02:24just a scientist. It's about turning complex ideas into something that everyone can connect
02:30with. Nayla Mahomet for KMTV in Cheltenham.
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