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Short Abstract

How can we make citizen science accessible to all? In this panel, we share insights from Children And Parents Enjoying Reading and Science (CAPERS), and interdisciplinary project using storytelling to connect scientists, families and local libraries in marginalised communities.

Abstract

CAPERS (Children And Parents Enjoying Reading Science) is an initiative designed to foster engagement with science through creative storytelling. CAPERS builds on the earlier Smalltalk project-where scientists co-authored science-themed storybooks with creative charity ‘Fighting words’.

CAPERS comprised two phases and involved engaging with children from a local primary school, in partnership with their local public library. The participating school serves an area of socioeconomic disadvantage in inner-city Dublin. The upper primary class who took part included students with diverse learning needs, including those for whom English is not their first language and those with visual impairment. Such students are typically underserved by science engagement initiatives due to a lack of suitably accessible resources. In phase one, scientists and parents acted as “reading buddies”, sharing Smalltalk storybooks. By establishing trusted relationships between reading buddies and students, phase one aimed to create a positive and inclusive entry point into science and reading.

In phase two, led by Fighting Words, the students, co-created their own science stories. This phase encouraged curiosity and self-expression while reinforcing the relevance of science in children’s everyday lives.

Thematic analysis of quantitative data from participant interviews indicated that CAPERS not only nurtured students’ interest in reading, writing, and STEM, but also strengthened connections between schools, libraries, families, and scientists. The project demonstrates how creative, contextualised, and relational approaches can help make science more accessible and meaningful to marginalised groups-particularly when language and social barriers are at play.