Cornwall Science Community
Who are we?
The Cornwall Science Community was originally established in 2016 as a branch of the British Science Association (BSA), with just a few postgraduate students from the University of Exeter and a handful of local business and science-related groups, such as the Falmouth Polytechnic, Fo.am, Cornwall College, the Royal Society for Chemistry, the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, and the Falmouth Café Scientifique.
In early 2019, the BSA announced that it was discontinuing its local branch structure, but encouraging those groups that wanted to continue to set themselves up as autonomous associations; which we did decide to do. Hence the change of name.
From 2019, with a whole new comittee and as an independent organisation, we are now in a position to start to grow, reach out and make connections with other groups and societies, from schools to the Chamber of Commerce, Eden to Goonhilly.
What do we do?
The aims of Cornwall Science Community are:
- to promote science as a part of culture and society to the people of Cornwall
- to establish collaborative relationships with other science- or knowledge-based groups and institutions working in Cornwall
- to establish relationships with local community groups in order to promote science as accessible for all
- to increase the number of people who are actively engaged and involved in science in Cornwall.
We also run Falmouth's Cafe Scientifique, who organise talks on all aspects of science and culture: From seagrass to agriculture, bees to weather, space travel to Cornish history - we are sure there is something for everyone. Check out our previous talks on our youtube channel.
We LOVE helping people get involved with science in Cornwall, whether you see yourself in wellies or a lab coat, volunteering in a museum or on a beach, let us know if you want to get involved and we will help you find what's on in your area. For some of our favourites, see our collaborations page.
When does the fun happen?
Our events are run year-round and are often evenings and weekends so that more people can come along. Follow us on here, or one of our other channels, to stay up to date with our upcoming events,
Where can you join in?
Many of our events since the pandemic have been online, something most of us are quite used to now. This summer will hopefully see a revival in our in-person events across various locations although our work is often in the Falmouth and Penryn area.
Why do we exist?
Our ambition is to help increase the number of people who are actively engaged and involved in science in Cornwall – whether they think of themselves as scientists or not. So, why not experiment a little and get back in to science with the Cornwall Science Community.
Cornwall Science Community is open to all with an interest in science, in science communication, citizen science, and cross-sector collaborations. You can sign up simply to be kept informed, via the mailing list; or to get more actively involved in making things happen.