A couple of weeks ago we took part in the annual international Fascination of Plants Day. Plant scientists and public engagement folk from around the world organise events and activities that give people the opportunity to learn about plants and see them in new ways, often up close and personal (we would like to make clear at this point that our primary contribution was merely the lifting and carrying of plants! All the actual preparation for the event was carried out by a handful of people working in biology at the University.) What we particularly liked about this event was the opportunity to bring the history and philosophy of science (HPS) to the public, while within a setting that was heavily geared towards the sciences. I won't say entirely science dominated, because the plants were the key points of discussion and public interest, and plants are the intellectual property (broad) of historian and scientist alike. In this way the plants and live bees(!) became something of a meeting point or a buffer for us all. Perhaps it was only because of this day being a celebration of plants (or what we might want to call 'bio-objects' more generally) that we were able to integrate ourselves so easily, and also have a bloody good time!
Knowing that one of the primary aims was to increase interest in the plant sciences amongst kids, we decided to make a game that would give us the opportunity to discuss plant breeding - because creating new varieties is pretty damn cool! - and also how these can become property - which is pretty damn important! To these ends we (and here I should really drop the plural and say Berry made it so he deserves all the credit/blame), made a game designed to A) get something of the essence of how IP works across to children between the years of 10-13, B) allow us to discuss plant breeding, and C) have a wee bit of fun. If you would like to see the game in full, you can download it here and also on our resources page.
| Save or Split! - A game about cooperation and competition for 10-13 year olds |
You can get the gist of the game from the pictures below, but in brief, the main mechanic of the game that actually relates to IP are the 'Save' or 'Split' cards that players can use either to help themselves, impede their opponent, or progress the game as a whole (there are only 2 pages of instructions so if you're really interested then have a look!)
Unfortunately we only got the chance to explain the game to a few people (and we didn't meet any kids of the right age), but we did at least get to play it with some of the other volunteers. This helped us iron out some wrinkles, and also made us realise that playing for a reward like chocolate would probably help...Anyway the photograph below is evidence that we were able to at least talk to SOME people. We would highly recommend that HPS people get themselves involved in these sorts of event, they are an exceedingly good opportunity to offer our perspective on science and collaborate with our colleagues outside the humanities.
Many thanks to Dr Nadia Moro, Dr Richard Caves, and Dr Carl Warom who helped us to trial some of the earlier concepts for the game, many of which were bonkers.
Many thanks to Dr Nadia Moro, Dr Richard Caves, and Dr Carl Warom who helped us to trial some of the earlier concepts for the game, many of which were bonkers.
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