Learn to harness the power of pictures to engage and educate any audience!

In an age of increasingly complex science, pictures can be a key to communicating clearly. But few science communicators have had a chance to learn how to access the power of pictures to engage and educate their audiences.

This course is designed to empower anyone to do that — to create pictures that clearly convey science information, no matter how complex.

What you'll learn in this course

S.P.A.R.K. will change forever the way you think about pictures and use them to communicate about science. 

You’ll learn core concepts of visual communication. This is not a course on how to draw. The S.P.A.R.K. strategies work with many ways of presenting information — diagrams, charts, posters, sketches, cartoons, even data visualizations. What you'll learn can be applied to pictures created by hand or with software you already know.

Each of the 24 videos is 10 minutes or less. You’ll learn:

• A perfect way to jumpstart your visual thinking and transition from words to pictures
• How to speak with the 8 elements of visual language
• Ways to target your audience’s visual sweet spot
• Tips for visually communicating to people who aren’t familiar with your top

Media producers, writers, journalists, educators, publishers, communications professionals, researchers, academics, students—anyone interested in making a greater impact with their science messages.

Join the ranks of science communicators who have already used S.P.A.R.K. to improve their outreach and communication skills, including at Yale, Harvard, the Innovative Genomics Institute, the University of Miami, Louisiana Tech University, and the University of Oregon, along with labs and individuals worldwide.

Instructors

Betsy Palay	Tami Tolpa
Betsy has over 30 years of experience creating visual communications for science researchers, educators, major biotech companies, and entrepreneurs. She is the founder and former president of a design firm that specialized in investor communications, assisting clients in raising a total of over half a billion dollars in Initial Public Offerings (IPO’s). Betsy has an MS in medical and biological illustration from the University of Michigan, is a Board-Certified Medical Illustrator, and is a Fellow and a past president of the Association of Medical Illustrators. Over 100 of her original scientific illustrations have been accepted into the permanent archives of the Vesalius Trust Collection of the Lloyd Library and Museum, Cincinnati, Ohio. See her work at www.betsypalay.com.	Tami has over 20 years of experience in scientific illustration and animation for clients including: Scientific American Magazine, The Scientist Magazine, Science News, MIT's Technology Review, Harvard University, and the University of Washington, as well as numerous physicians and biotechnology companies. Tami has an MFA in medical illustration from the Rochester Institute of Technology. She’s a past board member and current Fellow of the Association of Medical Illustrators. Tami has spoken about science communication using visuals at the University of Washington, Rochester Institute of Technology, the Association of Medical Illustrators, The Northwest Science Writer's Association, Science Talk '18, and ComSciCon-PNW. She's currently the Scientific Illustrator at Gladstone Institutes. Her professional website is www.tolpa.com.

ASC Speaker Series

Finding Your Strategy: Social Media for Science Communicators

Dr. Raven Baxter (Dr. Raven the Science Maven) provides a look at how science communicators can find a social media strategy that fits their goals, their content, and their audience. From how you source to how you publish to how you grow your voice, this webinar walks through what a science-first workflow looks like in practice, and includes a demo of Fervae, a new platform built by Dr. Baxter specifically for science communicators.

Be part of the launch of ASC’s Virtual Networking Series! This kickoff event is your chance to meet fellow science communicators, build new connections, and help design the future of ASC networking events. Come ready to connect, collaborate, and share what kinds of conversations and communities you want to see next.

Bridge the gap between science and society, your way!

In this session, participants will embark on a personalized engagement journey where they will use their holistic identities to find innovative ways to connect with their desired audiences. They will learn to identify connection points for the communities they’re working with and create meaningful, successful engagement through fostering open-minded exchange. Participants will build communication skills and have the opportunity to network with other like-minded practitioners.

This workshop is hosted by the STEM Ambassador Program at the University of Utah, a public engagement training program that has helped researchers and science professionals break down barriers between their work and their communities since 2016. The program is founded in and informed by social science research, providing a deeper understanding of the best practices for effective engagement.

Key Learning Objectives

• How to conduct innovative engagement work that will stand out on CVs and grant applications
• Promote increased public access to science
• Build meaningful relationships in the community and interact with other science communication professionals

Who Should Register?

Early-career scientists and science communication professionals (<5 years) and students interested in conducting meaningful public engagement

Instructor

Corinne Ryan

Corinne Ryan (she/they) is the program manager and primary instructor for the STEM Ambassador Program. Since joining STEMAP in 2023, Corinne has led training cohorts for multiple NSF projects and facilitated workshops for organizations such as the National Geographic Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Corinne’s work is informed by a background in conservation and ecology research, and she is passionate about permaculture farming, dance, and advocacy

Pushing the creativity envelope to better bridge the gap between science and society

In this upskilling session for seasoned science communicators, participants will learn how to enhance their public engagement and science communication efforts by examining the work from new angles. Participants will brainstorm new focal groups and connection points for engagement, learn to embody reciprocity and create space for open-minded exchange, and gain skills and resources for evaluating public engagement. Participants will have the opportunity to network with like-minded professionals throughout the workshop and begin building individualized engagement plans.

This workshop is hosted by the STEM Ambassador Program at the University of Utah, a public engagement training program that has helped researchers and science professionals break down barriers between their work and their communities since 2016. The program is founded in and informed by social science research, providing a deeper understanding of the best practices for effective engagement.

Key Learning Objectives

• How to conduct innovative engagement work that will stand out on CVs and grant applications
• Promote increased public access to science
• Build meaningful relationships in the community and interact with other science professionals and

Who Should Register?

Scientists and science communication professionals who are established in their careers and have some public engagement experience

Instructor

Corinne Ryan

Corinne Ryan (she/they) is the program manager and primary instructor for the STEM Ambassador Program. Since joining STEMAP in 2023, Corinne has led training cohorts for multiple NSF projects and facilitated workshops for organizations such as the National Geographic Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Corinne’s work is informed by a background in conservation and ecology research, and she is passionate about permaculture farming, dance, and advocacy.