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1 2 3 4 DO YOU KNOW WHAT A LEPTON'S FOR?
What about quarks? Nuclear fusion? How about the Theory of Relativity? If all this science jargon sounds like, well, science jargon, it’s time you got a Brain Makeover. And who better to help boost your science self-esteem than a squad of Science Cheerleaders, a group of professional cheerleaders promoting science literacy one cheer at a time.
The professional cheerleaders in this video aren’t just rooting for science, they’re practicing it. That’s right — scientist cheerleaders, or cheerleading scientists if you prefer. Don’t normally picture aerospace engineers with pompoms and molecular biologists shouting cheers? Well, you’re about to.
The Science Cheerleaders are a side project of ScienceCheerleader.com, a blog founded by Darlene Cavalier.
I had the privilege of speaking with Darlene about the blog and the Science Cheerleaders. Darlene spoke about the success, the challenges, and how she herself was initially a skeptic.
Before the formation of the actual Science Cheerleaders, there was Science Cheerleader, the blog. Darlene’s passion about finding a voice for the science citizen and the public’s position in science fueled both her graduate work at the University of Pennsylvania and the creation of the site. Darlene spoke about the three initial goals of ScienceCheerleader.com:
One was to increase adult science literacy. Another was to really enable more members of the regular public to get involved in doing science activity. And then we really wanted to focus the power of citizen scientists…to push for a mechanism...that would allow for participatory technology assessment…and ultimately more inclusiveness in technology assessment discussions.
With the help of Professor James Trefil of George Mason University, Darlene was then able to fuse her enthusiasm about science with the enthusiasm she gained during her time as a professional cheerleader for the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team.
Professor Trefi … has a book called Why Science? and [another book entitled] Science Matters. They’re both geared towards letting other people in academia better understand why more adults should be science literate and what that means for them.
He took it even 10 steps further—18 steps further saying “Here’s what it means to be science literate. Here’s why it’s important … And here’s 18 things you should know.” … Most people don’t take risks like that—they don’t want to be criticized by other people for leaving things out certain points. I loved his approach and frankly I understood it. So I met with him and I said, “What do you think of making ... those 18 concepts more appealing to a much wider audience?”
And from there, The Science Cheerleaders were born. Darlene called on her old squad from the 76ers to help her, and Professor Trefil out with their first project: Brain Makeover (linked at top). Brain Makeover consists of various videos showing one of the 76ers cheerleaders reciting one of Professor Trefil’s 18 facts as a cheer. Below the video, more information on the fact is given to help you better under each concept. After you’ve learned all 18 facts, you can test your knowledge with the quiz. (Can you pass with an 80%?)
The Brain Makeover and the Science Cheerleaders were definitely a hit, getting widespread Internet coverage as well as being featured on FOX news. While the overall response was very positive, Darlene did face some harsh criticism.
A big part of it for me is watching how people react to better understand how the project will evolve. A perfect example is that a lot of people loved [the Brain Makeover] because it was risky, and there were people who didn’t like it, who were totally offended — not so much that the women were in cheerleading outfits, but that these women didn’t have any kind of science background whatsoever. So, I took that to heart and decided to focus some more energy on really working with professional cheerleaders who are scientists and engineers, and it was a great route.
For those who think science-practicing professional cheerleaders are far and few between, think again. ScienceCheerleader.com has interviewed dozens of women who work in science fields AND cheer for professional sports teams across the country. As Darlene puts it:
They’re incredibly articulate, they’re passionate — it’s their life. They’re all just volunteering … So it’s genuine and it’s authentic.
Darlene spoke about being able to identify with these women and their struggle with stereotypes.
I absolutely can relate to them because almost every single one of them
