{"id":4165,"date":"2010-03-28T08:42:17","date_gmt":"2010-03-28T15:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/?p=4165"},"modified":"2014-05-26T08:44:31","modified_gmt":"2014-05-26T15:44:31","slug":"science-on-the-tip-of-the-fork","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/?p=4165","title":{"rendered":"Science on the Tip of the Fork"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Talking science in the classroom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cFour scientists, four different topics, one stage, no planning – just passion,\u201d says Roey Tzezana, the peripatetic organizer of \u201cScience at the Tip of the Fork.\u201d <\/a>Somewhere between theatre and science, the group\u2019s next performance will be at the Olamot 2010 <\/a>Science Fiction and Fantasy convention on March 31, at ZOA House in Tel Aviv with a program of magic and science. Optical illusions, body mechanics, astronomy and paranormal phenomena are on the program \u2013 all in short, funny and utterly fascinating performances that are also scientifically accurate. How did this amazing group get started? It all began when Roey read an ad in the newspaper for the first Israeli Fame Lab competition in 2007.<\/p>\n

As someone who likes to talk about science (currently working on his Ph.D. in nanotechnology) Roey entered the competition, thinking that at worst, he\u2019d have an interesting experience. As it turned out, this was the beginning of an adventure and a project that is ongoing and growing.<\/p>\n

The Fame Lab challenge is to give a 3 minute talk on any scientific topic. \u201cThere were about 25 people there for the first round of auditions,\u201d recalls Roey, \u201cI spoke about why we get a fever when we\u2019re sick. The body fools the brain \u2013 and makes us think that we are cold. Usually the brain sends instructions to the body; in this case, it\u2019s the opposite.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having made it through the first cut, contestants had to give a talk on a second topic that same evening. \u201cThe second round was amazing,\u201d said Roey, \u201cAlon Biran explained why you can\u2019t bake a cake in the microwave, and Eran Schenker, Head of the Aerospace Medical Research Center at the Fisher Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies talked about why babies can\u2019t be born in outer space \u2013 it turns out that gravity plays a role in directing the fetus to grow the head in its proper place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roey\u2019s second talk was about embryonic stem cells \u2013 what do they do and why are they important \u2013 which is part of his doctoral research. Roey was chosen along with 8 other finalists (3 are chosen in each of the audition locations) to compete in the final round. Although the winner receives prizes, including a trip to the Cheltenham Science Festival in the UK, the real prize, according to Roey, is a two day workshop on science communication.<\/p>\n

Frank Burnet, founder and co-director for five years of the Cheltenham Science Festival and part of the team that developed FameLab, conducted a day-long workshop for the nine finalists that made a strong impact on the entire group. An actor and biochemist who \u201chas the energy of a three year old, leaping up on tables, shouting in an Irish accent\u201d Burnet shared his passion for communicating science, teaching them not only how to talk about science and organize events, but also why it is so important to communicate science to the general public.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter the workshop, we decided that it is too interesting to end here; we wanted to create a group that would bring science to the public in different ways\u2026but how? Eventually, the organization evolved through our activities,\u201d said Roey. The group gave their first performance at ICON 2008. It was a full day with three performances and scientific attractions such as liquid nitrogen and superconductors, they called it \u201cScience on the Tip of the Fork\u201d \u2013 and the name stuck.<\/p>\n

Today, the group includes about 30 young enthusiastic scientists (it is open to all interested scientists) who make time in their busy schedules to speak in schools, conferences \u2013 anywhere they are invited. There are two formats for talks: either a single lecturer gives a 45 minute to 11\/2 hour talk, or there is a presentation of 4 speakers, each giving a ten minute talk on a different subject. They coordinate topics to avoid repetitious overlap, but essentially, each person talks about topics that interest her\/him. Roey is the hub of \u201cScience on the Tip of the Fork\u201d coordinating between groups and speakers \u2013 \u201csomeone had to do it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

What can be conveyed in a ten minute talk? Clearly, the information has to be simplified and there isn\u2019t much room for detail. Does this detract from the message? Not at all, according to Roey: \u201cAs a researcher I need to know every detail about the genes I am working with, I need to read all the relevant articles, know how they all interconnect. If I collaborate with an electrical engineer to grow cells on electrodes, I need to understand the genetics and he needs to understand the electronics, but he has no need to understand molecular biology. That is popular science \u2013 every time there is collaboration between researchers in different scientific fields, the communication between them is popular science \u2013 and the most interesting results come from collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n

In their talks, group members provide information about current scientific research, giving the audience a sense of what scientists are focusing on today and what might be the future potential of such research.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a taste,\u201d says Roey, \u201con the tip of the tongue, and perhaps this first taste will give people a taste for more.\u201d<\/p>\n

For those interested in a taste, the supply is varied and plentiful:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Olamot Science Fiction and Fantasy Conference<\/a>, March 31 at ZOA House Tel Aviv
\n16:00 Presentation by members of the Bio-medical Engineering Dept. at the Technion – Tissue engineering, treatment for diabetes, and Roey will talk about Cyberdyne, an ironman-like exoskeleton that has been developed in Japan.<\/p>\n

17:00 \u201cScience on the Tip of the Fork\u201d \u2013 Science and Magic
\nShani Waidergoren will present optical illusions, Bat Sheva Wagon- Galmidi will talk about body mechanics, Yoav Landesman on astronomy and Roey will demonstrate paranormal phenomena and explain the scientific principles that make them seem possible.<\/p>\n

Fame Lab 2010 is coming!
\n<\/strong>Auditions will take place on April 13 at the Technion in Haifa, April 14 at Hemda in Tel Aviv and April 21 at the Bloomfield Science Museum in Jerusalem. Additional information and online registration is available on the Hemda<\/a> website. Fame Lab 2010 is organized by Hemda and supported by Teva and the British Council.<\/p>\n

To get an idea of what Fame Lab is like, check out the youtube clip of Roey Tzezana at the first Fame Lab Israel sponsored by the British Council in 2007:
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\u201cFour scientists, four different topics, one stage, no planning – just passion,\u201d says Roey Tzezana, the peripatetic organizer of \u201cScience at the Tip of the Fork.\u201d Somewhere between theatre and science, the group\u2019s next performance will be at the Olamot 2010 Science Fiction and Fantasy convention on March 31, at ZOA House in Tel Aviv […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[23],"class_list":["post-4165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture","tag-fame-lab-2010"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4165"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4165\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}