Dr. Martin Austwick from University College London wrote a lovely blog about our work here in Lab_13 Irchester. Having seen what we do for himself on a visit before Christmas, he asks if more Lab_13s could bury the stereotypes of scientists and readdress gender issues within the sciences.
These talented young people just seemed really, well, normal. No super geniuses, no super geeks, just kids getting a lot out of something they really enjoyed. When does the stereotype kick in that you have to be weird to like science*? Not to mention the gender issues that the non-life sciences have. And could more Lab 13s (or something like them) help bury that once and for all?
Seeing science linked to this level of co-operation, self-reliance and responsibility in a group of people so young was an eye-opener for me. Ms Hogan guided and supported their activities, but it was the pupils who did the work of doing science, creating “detective kits” to sell to raise money, and even sacking committee members who weren’t pulling their weight. This sense of agency and self-determination was something I remember being lacking in my education, especially at that age – the engagement with science aside. Actually, I think encouraging self-direction and creativity is something that was absent from my school science education, and that of many of my peers. I think it’s part if the reason that a lot of my arts grads friends view science as a dry list of things you have to learn, rather than a collaborative exploration where individuals’ uniqueness is valued. This view of science, viewed as passive and requiring people who absorb fact like a sponge, goes against my experience of how science operates, at least in academia.
Read more on Dr. Austwick’s blog here
The Lab_13 Network 
