Way back in February, BETA traveled to Des Moines, IA to participate in UNI Day at the Capitol. Of the team, Dr. Sebree, Dr. Sedlacek, Bobbi, and Jessica attended to represent the BETA Project.
The day started off in an interesting manner. First, Bobbi had carried the large Lepidodendron fossil through the parking lot, through the majority of the building, but once she got to the last 100 feet or so of the journey to the table, a few men grabbed it from her to carry. It was very interesting to see them then struggle under the weight whereas Bobbi had been carrying it just fine. Then, the Chemistry department tablecloth was acquired by another group and, to the dismay of the team, the BETA table was one of very few without a tablecloth. The team quickly remedied the situation with the help of another UNI organization and the team headed to lunch. One of Jessica's favorite moments was seeing chocolate bars advertising BETA (and other research groups) at a table. The image chosen to represent BETA was of Bobbi doing field yoga in the Rockford Quarry. After collecting some chocolate bars to show to the rest of the team, Dr. Sebree, Bobbi, and Jessica took a stroll around the capitol and met the representative from the district UNI is in. After that, the team got to work.
Lepidodendron fossil
Dr. Sedlacek joined the group at that time (after finishing teaching in the morning) and the team stood near the table ready to share what BETA has to offer. Notably, the BETA Project was the only research group present at UNI Day. The team handed out cards with the website's address and talked to the interested onlookers. The team handed out brachiopods fossils to those interested in them, especially the children who were there, and it was great to see their faces light up as a result!
Bobbi explaining the project to an interested onlooker
The experience itself was a great outreach opportunity to let the Iowa legislators all of the cool things UNI is doing along with highlighting BETA's collaboration with NASA.
As Bobbi said, "It helped me water down my jargon in order to help people who don’t participate in research understand what we’re studying, and why." It was an important lesson for the team to learn because if BETA wants to focus on public outreach, the ability to explain the specific scientific concepts is crucial.
As Bobbi said, "It helped me water down my jargon in order to help people who don’t participate in research understand what we’re studying, and why." It was an important lesson for the team to learn because if BETA wants to focus on public outreach, the ability to explain the specific scientific concepts is crucial.
BETA will be sure to make an appearance in the coming years!