Idea: science at the pub

I think this is a great idea, but is it not just detracting from other events that are already established and in some cases, struggling to get numbers?

For example, Nerd Nite here in Wellington has a good following, but we have been speaking about how we can make it even better.

I think this is an excellent idea and has great potential to connect Early Career Researchers, but I am cautious that it would be re-inventing the wheel so to speak.

One idea that we had down here in Wellington was to start a "science club" (which is where our blog of the same name - www.scienceclub.co.nz - came from) where we create an extremely informal journal club. Is this the sort of thing that you're talking about?

@kimberleycollins That's a very good point, and this is why this should be discussed at a local level. There's a different picture in regional centres, where nothing is there, so any initiative would be good.

On a similar note - there's a definite disconnect between science communicators within New Zealand. I see three major populations in Wellington, Dunedin, and Auckland, with a lot of people doing excellent work.

Perhaps we need a way to highlight ways that scientists can communicate themselves - it may inspire scientists and give them the confidence to communicate their own research instead of relying on those with good communication skills.

We're all working for the same cause, after all.

Lets not forget that there's already a regional network of science-promotional organisations. See http://www.royalsociety.org.nz/membership/regional-constituent-organisations/ in my experience the local orgs are significantly less political and more science-oriented than the national body. At the very least they should have local contacts and local distribution lists.

I'm a bit behind on this one.. One thing I realised over the weekend is that the naming (maybe concept) also conflicts with Skeptics in the Pub.

@siouxsiewiles can you comment?