Last month, President Obama coined the phrase Sputnik moment in regard to the race for new innovations in science and technology. Last night, he raised this issue again in his State of the Union address. The President asserted that in order to support innovation, advance alternate energies, compete in the new global economy, and create jobs, the country needs investments in research and education equivalent to those undertaken during the height of the Space Race.

One of our favorite teaching modules is about conceptual diagrams, and the activity associated with this module is called Conceptionary. It is a game in which teams of 4-10 people are formed and one team member is designated as the 'science illustrator'. The 'science illustrator' is given a card with an environmental concept explained and several key words are identified.

PART 8; Communicating Science Effectively poster … In real time, as the plenary talk was being delivered, Dr. Charlotte Young from Envision Synergy quietly recorded the seminar as a story board on a large colorful poster in the back of the room. Following the seminar, I was able to view her graphical interpretation of the talk.

PART 7; O Canada! So my conclusions are that conservation deals with complex problems. I think of it as simple problems are like following a recipe. Complicated problems are like building a rocket to the moon. It's complicated, but you can do it over and over again if you do the equations and follow them. Complex problems are like raising a child. You don't always have complete control. It's not easy, and no two are alike.

PART 5; Report card examples … Another aspect that I think has a lot of similarities to Ontario right now with your thirty-six conservational authorities doing these Report Cards, is that first in some areas where you don't have a lot of resources, that citizens and scientists become a really powerful tool. And we've developed a coalition around these citizen and scientist groups. An example is the Chester River, and citizen science group call themselves the Chester Testers.

PART 3; History of Science Communication … There is a history of effective science communication that actually changed the world. If we think about the Copernican Revolution, Copernicus was a Polish astronomer, who published a book in 1543 on the movement of the Earth around the Sun, not the Sun around the Earth, which was the established belief at the time. And we call this the "Copernican Revolution".

PART 2; Incorporating visual elements … When I talk about using visuals, these are classes of visuals that we've tried to use in all of our science communication products. We try to use conceptual diagrams to provide context and synthesis. Historically, these were in the realm of graphic artists.

PART 1; Science Communication … I can't believe you are all here at 7:45 am. What's the matter with you people? This is way too early. I actually have ten years experience at the University of Queensland teaching at eight o'clock lectures, so I know how to deal with you. My jokes will fall flat, I will not get any eye contact, and what eye contact I get will be bloodshot.

Wandering through StoneTown, Sniffing the frying octopus, Admiring the elegant burkas, Zanzibar seems like a dream. Wading out to seaweed farms, Laughing with the monkeys, Feeding the sea turtles, Zanzibar seems like a dream. Meeting with villagers, Stopping at checkpoints, Smelling different spices, Zanzibar seems like a dream. Watching the Dhows drift in, Dancing under the stars, Relaxing by the pool, Zanzibar seems like a dream.

The workshop in Zanzibar was organized by a group of Swedish and African scientists. The role of our Integration and Application Network Science Communicators Kate Bentsen and Jane Hawkey, working with Guiseppe DiCarlo from Conservation International and myself, was to develop some training exercises and to produce a couple of science communication newsletters in a collaborative manner with workshop participants.