The two parties take it from there to set up the call. The program’s “matchmaker,” who’s also a computer scientist, sends out the emails connecting the scientists and classrooms. If you’re not quite sure what you’re looking for, Skype a Scientist can still find you a match. Then they can indicate their preferred expert on the form. They can first search the database by entering something as narrow as shark or as broad as biology. In order to match classrooms - and now families - with the right expert, teachers or parents fill out a form on the site. “We’ve had more scientists signing up because they had the time availability suddenly, because they couldn’t be in the lab doing their experiments.” Finding the right expert “You can find yourself going down a rabbit hole if you try to look up all the scientists that we have,” McAnulty said of the database with more than 5,000 experts. With Skype a Scientist, kids - even those who aren’t necessarily interested in science - get a chance to interact with an astronomer, chemist, geologist, biologist… the list goes on. “A lot of people were like, man, we really have kind of failed at effectively communicating science,” she said. McAnulty told Digital Trends that even before 2017, she and many of her colleagues noticed an increase in antiscience rhetoric on the internet. She started the program in 2017 as a way to connect classrooms with scientists, but with everyone now at home due to the coronavirus, it’s been expanded to allow families to chat with experts as well. Sarah McAnulty is a squid biologist and executive director of Skype a Scientist.

Why is it important to know this? 6:33 – On how Skype a Scientist connects people with scientists and helps them overcome the “intimidation factor” with science 8:22 – On how scientists across all disciplines participate 9:41 – On the audience, which is five or more people and could be of any age, background, or level of expertise (e.g. 3:05 – Her research into how animals and bacteria communicate… 4:39 - …and why this matters. People interested in learning from a scientist-and scientists interested in sharing their work with the public-can sign up to find a match at. Sarah McAnulty, PhD-Executive Director of Skype a Scientist and a squid biologist-joined the podcast to talk about the goals of Skype a Scientist and how scientists from all disciplines share their work with groups of all ages and backgrounds. Skype a Scientist matches up scientists with classrooms and groups of adults for Q&A sessions over video chat. There might never have been a time when more people have been interested in learning about science-from a safe distance.

Skype a scientist sarah mcanulty