Can teaching more people about science increase public trust

Can teaching more people about science increase public trust?

Expert shares ways UC is helping to improve public science literacy

The director of the Center for Public Engagement with Science at the University of Cincinnati talked to WVXU's weekday program "Cincinnati Edition" about ways it is improving science literacy and building trust in science.

Professor Angela Potochnik told show host Lucy May that scientific debate is often at risk of being politicized. Surveys by the nonprofit group Wellcome found that global trust in science has eroded, with just 72% of respondents surveyed in 140 countries saying they have "some" or "a lot" of trust in science, down from 80% before the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It's tricky," Potochnik said. "Science is the best means humans have found and systematically developed to gain knowledge and control over our world. And there are all kinds of science."

Potochnik is a professor and head of the Department of Philosophy in UC's College of Arts and Sciences.

UC's Center for Public Engagement with Science hosts a variety of public programs around science. This includes a regular Science Harvest at the Northside Farmers Market during the summer and early fall and activities workshops at the Natural History Museum.

And the center is launching a new book series through Cambridge University Press to share successful science engagement strategies with other institutions. One of the books looks at the role moms play in shaping national science policy and public support for science.

Angela Potochnik, UC's Center for Public Engagement with Science

But the center's mission is more than that, Potochnik said.

"We're really interested in thinking broadly about how science, especially science at academic institutions like the University of Cincinnati, connects with public life," she said.

"Part of it is trying to give the public an opportunity to learn about and gain access to science. But part of it is also making the science more responsive to public interests."

Potochnik was joined on the show by Brian Pollock, manager of STEM resources for the Cincinnati Museum Center, and Adjunct Professor Andrew Bernier, manager of education and research for Cincinnati Parks.

Bernier teaches STEM and sustainability education in UC's College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services. He said trust in science begins early in life. Cincinnati Parks hosts summer camps and field trips to make science fun.

"Step one for building trust in science is finding joy in science," Bernier said.

Cincinnati Parks also offers facilitated hikes for seniors and offeres programs at senior centers.

"We do a ton of field trips and guided hikes," he said. "We also have a lot of public signage to talk about natural history and social history of the parks."

Listen to the Cincinnati Edition episode.

Featured image at top: Students take part in a scavenger hunt in the Dinosaur Hall at the Cincinnati Museum Center's Museum of Natural History and Science. Photo/PEWS

UC's Center for Public Engagement with Science supervises a science activities workshop in the STEM Lab of the Natural History Museum in the Cincinnati Museum Center. Photo/PEWS

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