In this episode, we follow a group of UCD scientists as they try improv to communicate their research to the public. Their teachers for the day are from the Alda Centre of Science Communication. In a busy room, full of laughter, we meet scientists embracing improvisation and play as a way to learn. Play is wonderfully freeing; it allows us to imagine, construct, and test new possibilities. Jane and Shane chat about the stretchy, outside-the-box, thinking that play brings, and talk to science education researcher Prof Colette Murphy (Trinity College Dublin) about how play leads to deep learning. We also consider the implications for how science is done, and how it engages the public.

Hosted by Shane Bergin | Jane Chadwick

Featuring Niamh Shaw | Carol Schindler | Laura Lindenfeld

Produced by ⁠Shaun & Maurice⁠

Music by Chris Zabriskie

Supported by Science Foundation Ireland