Whether you are new to outreach, or an experienced practitioner, the RSC is here to support you to engage difference audiences with the chemical sciences. On this page you can find out more about how to get involved including:

Chemistry Week 2022 - Sustainability

7 - 13 November 2022

Applications are now closed for Chemistry Week grants. 

Chemistry Week is an annual celebration of the chemical sciences. The theme this year is Sustainability, this is the same as last year as we appreciate that due to the Covid-19 pandemic there may have been schools and communities that felt unable to engage how they would normally.

Our planet faces critical challenges, from the need to find more sustainable resources to plastics polluting the oceans. The chemical sciences have a role to play in finding solutions to these issues, and to raise awareness of the challenges we and our planet face. During Chemistry Week 2022 the RSC invite you to organise an activity to engage with a range of audiences (including schools, institutions, community groups, organisations and more) that reflects the theme of sustainability, including (but not limited to) topics such as:

  • critical raw materials
  • plastics
  • energy storage

Deadlines

Funding is open until Monday 3 October and will be considered monthly in the lead-up to this (Monday 4 July, Monday 1 August, Monday 5 September and Monday 3 October).

* Please note the final deadline of Monday 3 October.

Get some ideas

Not sure where to start? For inspiration on sustainability activity, check out our Global Experiment, visit our Teach Chemistry pages, or to find out more about some high-profile sustainability topics, take a look at the RSC Sustainability pages.

If you have any questions regarding Chemistry Week or maybe want to discuss a project idea, please get in touch using the contact details on this page.

Public Engagement Workshops and Training

The RSC has launched a public engagement workshop series: Diverse Engagement for Diverse Publics.

The aim of the series is to inform best practices, share ideas, and build a community for those who are interested in public engagement with science.

Upcoming Workshops

Chemistry and Plants: Creative Forms of Public Engagement

Discover more and register

Would you like to engage public audiences with your work in novel and creative ways? Are you keen to widen your reach in science communication?

Join Eve Barro from Chelsea Physic Garden for an online workshop on how to engage the public with chemistry through plants and botanical gardens!

About Eve:

Eve Barro is the Assistant Project Curator at Chelsea Physic Garden. She has a background in biochemistry from Imperial College London and a postgraduate degree in ‘Science, Technology and Society’ from University College London. Her current work and research interests revolve around ethnobotanical knowledge and emotional engagement with the natural world.

Please register here

Date: 26 January 2023
Time: 12:00pm - 1:30pm in London

From Goodwill to Equitable and Inclusive Practice

Find out more and register

This online workshop will discuss and reflect on what inclusion and equity mean in science engagement contexts. Led by Vanessa Mignan Jenkins, we will explore the key challenges of reaching diverse audiences and look critically at our practice.

Join our interactive session and bring along some of the challenges you are facing when trying to achieve inclusivity in science engagement. We will use a peer-consultation approach to identify practical actions for change.

About Vanessa:

Vanessa Mignan Jenkins is an independent trainer and social inclusion consultant for public engagement organisations. She uses her cross-cultural expertise to support institutions working outside their comfort zone. Over the past ten years, she has developed, implemented and evaluated educational and training programmes on science engagement, creativity and social justice at both French and European levels. Since 2021, she has been an Honorary Research Associate of the STS department at UCL.

Please register here

Date: 23 February 2023

Time: 11:00am - 1:00pm in London

Chemists in the Museum: Novel Spaces for Public Engagement

Find out more

Would you like to learn about public engagement with nature and science in museums? Are you interested in novel and inclusive forms of science communication?

Join Nuzhat Tabassum from the Natural History Museum and Science London for an in-person workshop at Burlington House!

About Nuzhat

Dr Nuzhat Tabassum is an Earth scientist, science communicator, and community builder. She is interested in the relationships between science, nature, community, and culture. Nuzhat is an advocate for equity, especially in education and science, and has a track record of producing events that support marginalised communities to pursue opportunities in the natural world.

Please register here

Date: 30 March 2023
Time: 11:00am - 1:00pm in London

Previous Workshops

Engaging Public Audiences Using TikTok

Find out more

This was a workshop for those interested in widening their reach when engaging public audiences with science. The RSC’s Joanna Buckley hosted a workshop on how to use TikTok for creative forms of science communication.

The Royal Society of Chemistry were the first learned society to post educational content on TikTok, back in October 2020, and the #LearnOnTikTok movement has seen huge growth since then.

If you missed it, here are some Top Tips from Joanna on using TikTok for science outreach!

Conspiracies: from ChemTrails to Chemophobia. Building Trust with Public Audiences

Explore more

This workshop was for those interested in public engagement that tackles challenging topics. Stephen Hughes from the Science and Technology Studies (STS) department at UCL hosted an interactive workshop that explored some of the tensions and conflicts which can emerge when chemists engage the public with their research.

The session explored the idea of trust as an obstacle to be overcome versus a relationship to be developed between scientists and the public.

About Stephen:

Stephen Hughes is a lecturer in Science, Technology, and Society at UCL. His research explores difficult and uncomfortable forms of public engagement, such as conspiracy theories, vaccine hesitancy, and climate change denial. He is interested in novel and experimental forms of communication that foreground the emotional aspects of public engagement with science.

 

Native Scientists: Inclusion and Diversity in Public Engagement

Find out more

This workshop was for those that are passionate about science communication that addresses social inequalities in STEM. Sara Marques from Native Scientists hosted a workshop on inclusion and diversity in public engagement with science.

Native Scientists bridges the gap between science and society by connecting children and scientists with a shared cultural background: About | Native Scientist

About Sara:

Sara Marques has 15+ years of experience in science communication and outreach. Sara has been responsible for developing, coordinating, delivering, and evaluating a wide variety of outreach activities that have Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion values in mind.

Recordings of previous public engagement and outreach workshops are available to access by all current RSC members through the members' area, all you need to do is follow the link below and log in with your membership number and password. See below for details on previous workshops.

How to be Engaging

Find out more

You've got a great topic, but how do you make people care? Sam Langford hosted a two-part series of 1-hour interactive online workshops that explored storytelling and engagement techniques that hook your audience and make them want to learn more! Whether it's tips on how to use volunteers, figuring out your audience or discovering that you definitely are a funny presenter, these two sessions were wide-ranging and highly interactive (no death by PowerPoint here!). Attendees had the chance to participate in a number of activities that helped build engagement skills with a range of audience types.

About Sam:

These sessions were delivered by Sam Langford (he/him), a science communicator, event producer and all-around performing science monkey. With almost 10 years of experience in science communication, he has delivered science content in the rainforest, up mountains, at music festivals and even by sending objects to the edge of space.

Making the Most of your Engagement - Jamie Gallagher - November 2021

Watch previous workshop videos here

Standing up for Science

Are you in the early stages of your career and interested in learning about how you can communicate with the public, media and policymakers about your work?

We are excited to support the Standing up for Science workshop programme for 2022 to help you make your voice heard in public debates about science.

See below for further 2022 dates and locations.

Read more on upcoming workshops

Upcoming Workshops

Workshop Date

Location

Applications

Friday 1 April 2022

Manchester

Note: this is a physical event.

Applications to open in early 2022.

Friday 20 May 2022

Norwich

Note: this is a physical event.

Application process to be announced in 2022.

December 2022

London

Note: this is a physical event.

Application process to be announced in 2022.

Keep up to date with Voice of Young Science news by signing up to the Voice of Young Science network.

Opportunities in outreach and public engagement

We know from our Chemistry for All research that it is vital to have a diverse range of passionate role models to support inspiring and enthusing the next generation as well as spreading the word about the pivotal role chemistry plays in solving global problems. The RSC provide a number of ways to get involved, current opportunities include:

RSC Outreach Fund

Our Outreach Fund provides financial support to members, non-members, individuals and organisations in order to enable them to run chemistry-based public and schools engagement activities. Visit the page here to find out more and to see if you are eligible to apply for funding.

STEM Ambassador Programme

Would you like to make a difference to young people, your community and education in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM)? STEM Ambassadors make an impact by supporting learning, illuminating careers and raising aspirations. For more information and to sign up, visit the STEM Ambassador website here.

I’m a Scientist – get me into schools

Share your passion for chemistry with school students using I'm a Scientist - an online, student-led STEM enrichment activity that connects school students with scientists through real-time text-based messaging. By applying to be one of the scientists, you'll help to inspire the next generation of chemical scientists as well as developing your online communication skills. For more information and to sign up visit the I'm a scientist website.

“A Scientist Just Like Me” Primary School Resource

Would you like to help raise awareness of diversity in science-based careers for primary aged children? The Primary Science Teaching Trust are designing a new resource comprising of a set of short, illustrated slideshows of a particular scientist or person working in a science-related job. Find out how to take part. Remember to mention you are an RSC member if you get involved.

Volunteer as a Chemistry Tutor with The Access Project

The Access Project is looking for volunteers to support disadvantaged young people aged 14-18, via an easy-to-use dedicated online platform. By volunteering you will help to inspire, motivate and raise aspirations towards further education and the world of work. Visit the Access Project website for more information and to sign up, and don't forget to quote RSC.

Regional RSC Activity

There may be activity taking place in your local area that you could become involved with. To find out if there is anything going on near you, contact your Local Section or Education Coordinator.

Find out more about volunteering with the RSC

Activity Inspiration

The list of activity that can be carried out to engage audiences with the chemical sciences is endless! Whilst this is exciting and allows much room for creativity, it can also be overwhelming, so here are a few resources you can look at as a starting point:

  • Teach Chemistry – in our outreach collection, you will find a wide range of activities you can do from chemistry in your shopping basket to chemistry of sunscreens.
  • A Future in Chemistry – if you are looking to talk about careers in chemistry, our Future in Chemistry resources are an excellent place to start.
  • Case studies - details of previous schools and public engagement outreach projects can be found on the Outreach Fund pages, feel free to use these as inspiration and to help guide your thoughts.
  • Sustainability - to link in with the 2021-22 RSC focus on sustainability, there is a wealth of information available on a dedicated webpage to help inspire and support related activity.
  • Schools Engagement – if you are looking specifically at engaging with schools, take a look at our Education website for resources.

National Chemical Landmarks

The Chemical Landmarks Scheme is a public engagement initiative raising awareness of sites where individuals, teams and collaborations within the chemistry community have made a significant contribution to health, wealth or quality of life. Find out more about the scheme here.

Not sure where to start?

If you are still not sure where to go from here, don’t worry! Get in touch with us using the details on this page, we would be happy to hear from you and help support you however we can.

Campaigning & outreach

Outreach engagement

Find out how to get involved
Tel:
+ 44 (0) 1223 432200 or + 44 (0) 1223 438371
Email:
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