Storytelling Science: Online art, science and storytelling workshops
Storytelling Science:
On 19th and 20th February 2021, creative online workshops for 13-17-year-olds explored the science of our immune systems + Shigella bacterial infection through game-making and socially engaging games.
Chit Chat & Catch: Shigella is around!
How can you cage bacteria? How do bacteria escape? How do cells talk to each other?
In this interactive workshop, we explored the fascinating science of the human immune system and Shigella bacteria through a creative role-playing game of deception, secret language and storytelling, looking at how cells and other important characters in our body defend against infection.
Score points and guess which players are the invading bacteria before it’s too late…
Ready Shigella Go!
How do tiny, blob shaped bacteria make us so sick? Are they truly evil… or just trying to stay alive? Do our bodies have bouncers to try and keep them out?
We explored the unseen tale of good versus evil that takes place in our bodies on a daily basis, and through hands-on game making, try to hear out both sides of the story. If the bad guys manage to storm our body’s barricades, how does our immune system kick into gear and fend them off? If you’re the bacteria… how can you ensure you outsmart the immune system?
In this workshop we-cycled everyday materials to design and make tabletop games, and play out the battle between the deadly Shigella bacteria and the human immune system.
The Storytelling Science workshops were designed for young people (aged 13-17) with an interest in art and/or science, seeking interesting experiences and unusual portfolio material. All participants had hands-on creative techniques and generated visual stories using a range of skills. The workshops combined art, science and storytelling to better understand bacterial infection and were designed to merge digital and hands-on creative activities in a safe online space – devised and delivered by students from Central Saint Martins studying MA Art and Science, MA Graphic Communication Design and MA Character Animation.
Storytelling Science is inspired by the work of the Mostowy Lab at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, a scientific research group studying the highly contagious and often deadly Shigella bacteria. The project aims to share insights and stories from the scientific research of the Mostowy Lab to engage and excite audiences about a range of topics including trained innate immunity and science citizenship through creative workshops.
Supported by a Wellcome Trust Research Enrichment Grant and by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Storytelling Science ran with Central Saint Martins, Manchester Metropolitan University, and Volda University College, as part of a larger project produced by Animate Projects and Samantha Moore.
http://storytellingscience.online/