The communication of the science and engineering we do in our field has never been more important, with the aim of explaining our scientific progress and involving as many people as possible in our scientific debates. Tactile Collider is an STFC-funded project led by Cockcroft Institute scientists which has tackled the communication to underrepresented audiences head-on, creating a new model of scientific communication and a travelling event to teach visually impaired audiences about accelerator physics and the Large Hadron Collider.
Tactile Collider was created by Dr Rob Appleby and led by Rob, Dr Chris Edmonds and Robyn Watson, and these three have just won the European Physics Society Outreach prize for 2019. The citation for the award is “To Rob Appleby, Chris Edmonds and Robyn Watson for the ‘Tactile Collider Project’ that brings particle physics to blind and visually impaired schoolchildren through touch and sound.” The Award Ceremony took place on Monday, 10 July 2019 during the EPS-HEPP Conference in Ghent, Belgium.
Tactile Collider is now into its third successive year of touring around the UK, growing increasingly popular with pupils and teachers alike. The events also include Continuing Professional Development (CPD) sessions for school teachers to provide them with the training and skills needed to make science more accessible to young people with visual impairments.
For more information on the Tactile Collider visit www.tactilecollider.uk or contact Dr Rob Appleby at robert.appleby@manchester.ac.uk.