Outreach
No thief, however skillful, can rob one of knowledge,
and that is why knowledge is the best and safest treasure to acquire.
~L. Frank Baum~
Public Lectures
I speak a local events mainly regarding understanding topics on Aquatic Ecology and Archaeology, Evolution, and The Origin of Life with the goal of reaching the general public. I have spoken at University of the Third Age in Ripon, 3D Archaeology in Harrogate, the Cawood Historical Society, and AstroFest run by the Astronomy Department at Penn State.
I also speak with children in schools through workshops or lessons. Right now I work with Skype a Scientist to contact to schools.
If you would like me to speak for your organization, community group, or school, please contact me.
Exhibitions and Activities
Fish 'n' Ships: Fishing Through Time was at YorNight 2015 and York Festival of Ideas 2016, 2017, and 2018. We are featured in the British Academy publication. We had awesome demonstrations of historic fish butchery and cooking practices along with a number of interactive science displays and the opportunity to talk to scientists directly about the biology and archaeology of fish.
At Penn State I have participated in a range of activities geared towards families and children which allowed guests to explore different extreme properties of microbes, look into time with fossils and geology, think about what might life be like on other worlds, understand evolution in a simple and practical manner, and ask questions about the growing field of astrobiology.
Workshops and Camps for Youth
I have run a number of day workshops and longer camps for children and youth. If you are interested in understanding what it takes to run a science camp for kids or are looking for ideas, please contact me. My previous camp experiences as a director and content planner or adviser include the following.
Primary School: Ages 5-9
I have helped organize and run several years of different Halloween based science activities for day and week workshops on the themes of Harry Potter and Outbreak through HauntedU at Penn State.
Middle School: Ages 10-14
I have run several day workshops for children in this age range on Astrobiology and The Physics of Paper Airplanes which were filled with fun learning activities. In addition, I have participated in organizing and running a week long camp for children in this range on Astrobiology through ScienceU at Penn State.
High School: Ages 14-17
I have run several day, week, and month long educational programs for youth in this age range. They have included courses on geometry where we learned geometry to design and build birdhouses; physics where we learned about paper airplanes; and molecular biology where we learned about bacteria through Upward Bound, Penn State, and Science Trails at University of York.
Organizations and People I Support
There are lots of charitable organizations out there and I encourage people to investigate those locally to support in whatever way they can, but these are the ones that I personally support and I would suggest you check them out as well several of them offer options to help without spending money. The ones that I give money to all have good scores on Charity Navigator and Charity Watch.
Your Local Public School - Volunteer to tutor or mentor students. It can and does change lives.
Your Local Animal Shelter - They can always use people to help the millions of animals who don't have homes.
Big Cat Rescue - They keep big cats which have been abused and do great work keeping them happy.
Your Local Small Businesses - Integral to communities, they often get overlooked for the big chains.
APOPO’s HeroRATs - They train rats to sniff out mines and tuberculosis, and it works. How cool is that!
The Crayon Initiative - They recycle used crayons into new ones for children who most need them.
Lutheran World Relief - They are on the ground providing support to those in poverty around the world.
WaterAid - They help provide clean water to individuals in locations without access to clean water.
Child Aid - They work to increase literacy rates in South America.
Doctors without Borders - They need little introduction and do amazing work.
Zen Pencils - An artist who makes cartoons based upon quotes. Always inspirational.
Information is Beautiful - An author and artist who does visual design for complex data.
Edward Tufte - An author and artist who makes complex data accessible through visuals.
Chris Uhl - Amazing education and author. Read his books, they will change how you see higher education.