Sharing a passion for curiosity is one of the best life-skills that can be passed on.
The Rock Showman is my public persona and a Pied Piper of petrifaction! He has a separate website here and does the social media platforms too.
Here’s some work I’m doing as a live communicator and digital content producer.
The Showman’s Booth – Live Events
Our Showman’s Booth is a mobile museum, interactive theatre and outreach classroom that we take to museums, public events and schools. It’s a modern day take on the travelling curiosity cabinet and is packed full of beautiful illustrations and education visuals. In 2022 we were awarded “Excellence in Education” prize from the Geologists Association’s Curry Fund. Schools film here – check out the kids’ reactions!
What’s Beneath Our Feet – Film Production
Digital education commission for The Common Room of The Great North . Designed to combine English Curriculum for KS2 (age 7-11) with geo heritage of North East England
The Greatest Show Unearthed – Performances
The Showman’s booth is the natural habitat of our Let’s Circus duo show ‘The Greatest Show Unearthed’. The all-ages production tells the 4.6 billion year journey of the Earth into a theatrical narrative. Shows are paired with hands-on curiosity gathering via our travelling collection of fossils, minerals and natural curios.
We also have a series of Performance Lectures designed to captivate, amaze and amuse.
Fossil Safari Tour Guide
At the University of Newcastle, NSW, the other Science departments said that Geology was a ‘coloured pencil’ discipline. Just a little bit more right-brained than physics or chemistry. Perhaps that’s how I ended up as a colourful scientist, in the arts.
20 years later, I’m still licking rocks and geeking out on finding a cool new fossil or crystal amongst the dirt, but these days my focus is to share the stories of these finds with the curious public.
Science Edu-tainment
As a science communicator, I aim to share my enthusiasm for science (BSc.) to the public through playful theatre and fun activities. My shows and workshops have allowed me to work with organisations such as The Yorkshire Fossil Festival, Museums Northumberland, Killhope – The North of England Lead Mining Museum, Edinburgh International Science Festival, Cambridge Science Centre, Tyne and Wear Discovery Museum, The Durham Miners Gala, Lapworth Museum of Geology, Birmingham, Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh, Dr Bunhead’s Science Education, Glasgow Science Centre and CSIRO Science Education Centre (Sydney)
Along with Helen, we’ve created this Candy Floss sideshow, where the humble pink treat is used to explain concepts like the cohesion of matter during the formation of our solar system, how laboratories are using candy floss to create artificial meat substitute and one possible solution for recycling plastic involving a candy floss machine.
Sound like fun?
It’s sweet đŸ™‚
I’m on instagram as @TheRockShowman
And we do a full circus production ‘The Science Circus Spectacular’.
It’s like a physics in action show, with sequins.