Science on the Underground project
Science on the Underground was the ground-breaking project that saw science posters on the London Underground trains for the first time. The project was launched in 1998 by Melvyn Bragg at the Transport Museum in London. The posters presented science problems using Brenda Keogh and Stuart Naylor’s Concept Cartoons. They were designed to increase public engagement in science by intriguing passengers and getting them talking and thinking about these problems. They could follow up the questions raised in the posters through a dedicated website*, a leaflet from the London Transport Museum or by phoning Science Line. Funding was provided by COPUS, GlaxoWellcome, Institute of Physics and Millgate House Education. The project was independently evaluated by Education Extra.
One of the highlights of the project was a discussion between Clive James and Alan Davies, on the BBC Clive James Show, about one of the posters that Alan seen during a journey on an underground carriage. Another highlight was a comment that appeared on the website from a man who had said that he was so engaged in thinking about the problem that he missed his stop!
The project led to significant press interest in the UK and beyond, and has been followed up by similar Concept Cartoon posters on public transport systems in Russia, Sweden and Glasgow. It has also influenced a project on public transport systems in Boston, USA.
*The website is still available but is no longer live. Some of the posters from the Project can be seen at http://www.media.mmu.ac.uk/posters/
