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The virtual Natural History Museum: Placing digitized collections back within a museum context (2020)
Presentation / Conference
Marshall, D., Hobbs, L., Bird, H., & Bird, C. (2020, October). The virtual Natural History Museum: Placing digitized collections back within a museum context. Paper presented at GSA 2020 Connects Online

As digitization of museum collections becomes more prevalent, the question of how to utilize such resources becomes increasingly pertinent. Digital collections predominantly exist as queryable databases designed for the retrieval of specific data by... Read More about The virtual Natural History Museum: Placing digitized collections back within a museum context.

Elements of construction: Minecraft and the periodic table (2020)
Report
Hobbs, L., Bentley, S., Ashby, M., Hartley, J., Rose, R., & Power, C. (2020). Elements of construction: Minecraft and the periodic table. Royal Society of Chemistry

Minecraft is a popular computer game that allows the construction of almost limitless creations, and is used in learning contexts around the world. The widespread appeal and familiarity of the game makes it ideal for engaging children and young peopl... Read More about Elements of construction: Minecraft and the periodic table.

Exploring space using Minecraft (2020)
Presentation / Conference
Hobbs, L., Bentley, S., Stevens, C., & Hartley, J. (2020, May). Exploring space using Minecraft. Poster presented at Space Science in Context, Virtual conference

Space can fascinate children from an early age, presenting a key opportunity to engage them with Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). Minecraft is an extremely popular construction-based computer game with parallels and analogies to rea... Read More about Exploring space using Minecraft.

Science Hunters: Teaching science concepts in schools using Minecraft (2019)
Journal Article
Hobbs, L., Stevens, C., Hartley, J., Ashby, M., Jackson, B., Bowden, L., …Bentley, S. (2019). Science Hunters: Teaching science concepts in schools using Minecraft. Action Research and Innovation in Science Education, 2(2), 13-21

Background Science Hunters is an outreach project based at Lancaster University, UK. It uses the computer game Minecraft, alongside interactive discussion and hands-on demonstrations, to engage children with scientific research topics and science l... Read More about Science Hunters: Teaching science concepts in schools using Minecraft.

Catch 22 - improving visibility of women in science and engineering for both recruitment and retention (2019)
Journal Article
Fogg-Rogers, L., & Hobbs, L. (2019). Catch 22 - improving visibility of women in science and engineering for both recruitment and retention. JCOM: Journal of Science Communication, 18(4), https://doi.org/10.22323/2.18040305

There is a significant under-representation of women in STEM which is damaging societal progress for democratic, utilitarian, and equity reasons. However, changing stereotypes in STEM requires a solution denied by the problem-more visible female role... Read More about Catch 22 - improving visibility of women in science and engineering for both recruitment and retention.

Using Minecraft to engage children with science at public events (2019)
Journal Article
Hobbs, L., Stevens, C., Hartley, J., Ashby, M., Lea, I., Bowden, L., …Burke, T. (2019). Using Minecraft to engage children with science at public events. Research for All, 3(2), 142-160. https://doi.org/10.18546/RFA.03.2.03

Engagement with science and scientific skills is an important aspect of children's ability to navigate the world around them, but engagement with science is low in comparison with other subjects. The Lancaster University outreach project Science Hunt... Read More about Using Minecraft to engage children with science at public events.

Women Like Me Executive Summary 2019 (2019)
Report
Fogg-Rogers, L., & Hobbs, L. (2019). Women Like Me Executive Summary 2019. Bristol, UK: Royal Academy of Engineering

Only 11% of engineers in the UK are women. For democratic, utilitarian and equity reasons this is not enough. Both recruitment and retention are important – more girls need to connect with engineering as a creative, socially conscious, collaborative... Read More about Women Like Me Executive Summary 2019.

“So we can’t bring a volcano into the classroom…” Communicating geosciences through digital media (2019)
Journal Article
Hobbs, L., Stevens, C., Larbey, R., Marshall, D., & Smith, C. (2019). “So we can’t bring a volcano into the classroom…” Communicating geosciences through digital media

There are many fascinating, exciting and important aspects of geoscience that we just cannot physically bring into classrooms and public engagement events in all their glory. Volcanic eruptions, using drones to combat environmental crime, museum ex... Read More about “So we can’t bring a volcano into the classroom…” Communicating geosciences through digital media.

A global database and grading system for the deposition of supraglacial volcanic airfall (2019)
Presentation / Conference
Hobbs, L., Gilbert, J., Lane, S., & Loughlin, S. (2019, March). A global database and grading system for the deposition of supraglacial volcanic airfall. Poster presented at Lancaster Volcano-ice Gathering 2019

Volcanic airfall (defined here as any material, such as volcanic ash, that falls from an eruption plume and cools before deposition) lands on glaciers, ice sheets, permafrost and snowfields worldwide. The interactions between these deposits and glaci... Read More about A global database and grading system for the deposition of supraglacial volcanic airfall.

Science Hunters: An inclusive approach to engaging with science through Minecraft (2019)
Journal Article
Hobbs, L., Stevens, C., Hartley, J., & Hartley, C. (2019). Science Hunters: An inclusive approach to engaging with science through Minecraft. JCOM: Journal of Science Communication, 18(2), https://doi.org/10.22323/2.18020801

Science Hunters is an outreach project which employs the computer game Minecraft to engage children with scientific learning and research through school visits, events, and extracurricular clubs. We principally target children who may experience barr... Read More about Science Hunters: An inclusive approach to engaging with science through Minecraft.