Every two years, the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI) holds a scientific assembly; the New Zealand volcanology community is excited to be hosting the 2023 meeting in Rotorua this coming January. Because of the pandemic, it will be the first meeting in four years.
Each conference draws thousands of scientists from around the world, many of whom lead and have developed outreach activities for workshops, science fairs, and other events. Thus, the local organising committee has elected to trial a new event at the conference in January. It'll be a cross between a scientific session and a science fair.
Scientists who have an outreach component of their work will be invited to submit a summary of, instructions for, and science behind their favourite demonstration. This can be any demonstration related to earth science, earth systems science, geology, etc. A booklet containing everyone's submissions will be made available to those who come.
During the conference itself, outreach providers will be given an opportunity to have a small station at which they can show off their demonstration. There will be an opportunity for science communicators, outreach providers, and educators to watch demonstrations and talk to the provider who submitted the demonstration. The local organising committee is still working out a way to provide local educators and teachers access to the outreach fair without registering for the entire conference, so if you are based near Rotorua, keep your ears open. We hope to see you there! Now to pick a favourite demo....