On 14-15 September, Dr. Chris Manias hosted an interdisciplinary workshop entitled ‘Popularizing Palaeontology: Historical and Current Perspectives.’  This was attended by historians, palaeontologists, artists, museum professionals and science communicators, and discussed how palaeontology and extinct organisms have been presented to and engaged with by public audiences, both historically and today.

Throughout the workshop, we engaged with questions like: what messages has palaeontological knowledge been used to promote?  What have been the motivations for palaeontological outreach, and what techniques have been used?  How has the public profile of the discipline interacted with its academic reputation and standing?  And why has palaeontological popularization become so focussed on dinosaurs, and how has this affected the public face of the discipline?

Some papers discussed public engagement with particular organisms, such as Azhdarchid pterosaurs, Sauropod dinosaurs and Mesozoic mammals.  Others talked about how palaeontological ideas have been presented in art, film, the media and literature, and in settings ranging from museums to hospitals to the internet.  Across the two days, we talked about how palaeontological outreach can work across disciplinary boundaries, and in different contexts and time periods.

The talks have been uploaded to a workshop website as video and audio, and the participants are set to write reflective blogposts on the issues raised.  These can all be found  on the Popularizing Palaeontology website.