There is a growing appreciation for the importance of community outreach among scientists ¹ . However, there is not yet a consensus regarding the most effective method of engaging the public. Instead, a number of public outreach models have emerged, each with a share of supporters and critics from within the scientific community ^{2, 3} . Even the meaning of “outreach” has also proved contentious among scientists, alternatively defined as either unidirectional communication from scientists to the public or as bidirectional exchanges intended to foster dialogue ² . In our initiative, we used “outreach” to broadly describe all efforts performed by scientists to communicate scientific information to non-expert audiences. Finally, perceptions regarding the benefits of outreach for scientists are continuing to change ³ . Recently, the traditional view of outreach as a “duty,” which solely benefits public literacy, has been challenged by the view that scientists, and particularly graduate students, also benefit from interactions with diverse public audiences ⁴ . Science Fiesta was conceived as a platform for scientists to inform, engage, and excite the public, while providing graduate students a unique opportunity for practical training in communication, leadership and project management.

San Antonio is a rapidly-growing metropolis and the largest city in South Texas ⁵ . The city features a vibrant biotechnology sector. Nearly 1 in 6 jobs are in healthcare or biosciences. The city is home to multiple public and private research universities, and has two large, private, world-class, non-profit research foundations ⁶ . Furthermore, South Texas can play a critical role in bolstering diversity in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education at all levels. A number of colleges and universities in the region are federally-designated “Hispanic-Serving Institutions” (HSIs) ⁷ and receive funding from the U.S. Department of Education for programs in STEM and healthcare education and NIH-funding for biomedical science training through the Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) program ⁸ .

Still, South Texas is faced with specific challenges relating to science education. San Antonio lags behind other major cities in educational attainment with less than one-quarter of adults holding a 4-year degree and the region as a whole is affected by rates of poverty above the national average ⁹ . Moreover, many of the counties in the region have been designated as “Healthcare Professional Shortage Areas” (HPSAs) by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, indicating a need for more STEM professionals in the region ^{10, 11} . These challenges represent an opportunity for science education, outreach and workforce development to improve quality of life in the entire region. While normative public engagement efforts can be constrained by specific goals, such as educating the public on a particular topic, Science Fiesta’s ultimate aim was to spark a culture of outreach and demonstrate the value of science to the San Antonio community.

Science Fiesta was developed by the Graduate Student Association (GSA) of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) in order to fulfill the need for broader science outreach and to create awareness and appreciation for the central role of science in the future of South Texas. To achieve this goal, the GSA sought to integrate its outreach efforts with a widely-attended, yearly event. Held each April, “Fiesta” is an over century-old San Antonio tradition, featuring a full two weeks of parades, festivals and community service activities across the city ¹² . As a major local tradition, Fiesta presented a unique opportunity for scientists to engage with the San Antonio community.

Seamlessly integrated within this larger cultural tradition, Science Fiesta aimed to preserve both the aesthetic qualities and festive environment of Fiesta events. Science Fiesta was held in venues used for traditional Fiesta events and featured a mixture of science outreach and local entertainment. The event featured dozens of booths representing San Antonio science institutions and industry, interactive science stations, discussion panels, a “Q&A” poster session (featuring science from undergraduate and graduate-level scientists), science-themed art exhibits, food vendors, Mexican folk dancers and musicians. Through these diverse offerings, Science Fiesta was an event embraced by the entire community. By providing activities that engaged both children and adults, trainees in attendance were challenged to practice multiple levels of science communication and tailor their scientific messages to a variety of diverse audiences. Furthermore, graduate students who organized the event further refined their scientific communication skills through selecting the modes of outreach best suited for the different groups in attendance. For example, the student organizers developed a poster template for the “Q&A” poster session accessible to a broad age group but selected questions for the discussion panel on science policy that engaged a more sophisticated audience. For trainees, Science Fiesta was more than an opportunity to practice science outreach and communication, but a unique educational opportunity to design and direct interactions between scientists and the general public for the maximum benefit of both groups. Importantly, organizing an event of this type allowed graduate students to developed career-specific skills not typically exercised in graduate-level science education.

The educational evaluation and assessment of Science Fiesta outlined below was deemed to be Not Regulated Research by the UT Health Science Center Institutional Review Board Office (Protocol Number: HSC20160219N).

Science communication and public engagement are fundamental roles of scientists. Here, we describe “Science Fiesta,” a student-led outreach initiative tailored to engage the local community of San Antonio, Texas. Science Fiesta combined science outreach, entrainment and local culture in order to attain an exceptionally diverse appeal within the community.

Science Fiesta succeeded in attracting segments of the public who either were not previously inclined, or lacked the opportunity, to engage with science. This assertion is supported by data provided by public attendees, citing Science Fiesta’s diversity of activities as the primary sources of satisfaction with the event ( Figure 2A). Interestingly, while relatively few respondents specifically cited the educational activities as their favorite component, more than 80% reported receiving a positive science learning experience at the event ( Figure 2B). While educational activities were not the primary focus for attendees, learning outcomes were achieved through immersion in science. The vast majority of attendees indicated that they learned “some” or “a lot” about science at the event (87.3%).

Through Science Fiesta, we planned and executed an event that was perceived by all parties to be enjoyable, family-friendly, and educational. In doing so, we created enthusiasm for engaging in future science outreach efforts amongst graduate students and attendees. Thus, Science Fiesta-“like” events could achieve a sustained improvement in the culture of scientific engagement within a community, such as that of San Antonio. This is supported by evidence from public attendees, as approximately 90% expressed a likelihood of attending future science events ( Figure 3). This result is even more remarkable when considering that over 70% of respondents had not previously attended science outreach events. Similarly, trainees participating in Science Fiesta were not uniformly involved in science outreach prior to the event. Before Science Fiesta, 42% of graduate students participating in organizing the event were not previously engaged in outreach. However, following participation in this initiative, trainee enthusiasm for science outreach increased dramatically. All participating trainees reported that they were “very likely” to engage in future outreach initiatives as a result of their experience with Science Fiesta. It is our hope that the increased interest in science engagement among both the public and graduate students will seed a culture of science-awareness and appreciation in the community.

Importantly, as the job market for scientists with post-secondary training continues to diversify into areas outside of academic research (i.e. public policy, scientific journalism and education) and become increasingly competitive within academic research, increased emphasis on developing programs to promote the career preparedness of trainees is required. We present evidence that graduate student-led outreach initiatives not only instill a consciousness for the importance of public engagement, but offer an effective method for career training. Mastering communicating research to diverse audiences, as well as organizing outreach initiatives, develops career skills not taught through laboratory training. Importantly, the graduate students reported positive impacts in key professional skills: communication ( Figure 4A-B), leading teams of peers ( Figure 4C), as well as setting and achieving project objectives ( Figure 4D). As indicated by student responses, these skills are valued by trainees as an important part of their professional growth ( Figure 5A). As a whole, the trainees deemed their participating in outreach to be a beneficial learning experience that added value to their education ( Figure 5B).

It is clear that planning and participating in Science Fiesta addressed professional development gaps in graduate education. Science Fiesta engaged every level of the STEM pipeline, developed career skills among graduate students, and connected local industry and academia with the larger community. However, the most promising outcome of Science Fiesta was enthusiasm for science within the community, as reflected by survey results citing increased interest in science outreach, among both the public and graduate students. This enthusiasm has the potential to lead to sustained improvement in science awareness and literacy. We propose that Science Fiesta, and events which employ its model, may address issues, such as STEM workforce development, barriers to diversity, low educational attainment, and public investment in the sciences. We assert that weaving science into the local cultural fabric may establish a tradition of engagement between scientists and the community.

The data referenced by this article are under copyright with the following copyright statement: Copyright: � 2016 Block TJ et al.

Data associated with the article are available under the terms of the Creative Commons Zero "No rights reserved" data waiver (CC0 1.0 Public domain dedication).

F1000Research: Dataset 1. Results of Science Fiesta attendee surveys, 10.5256/f1000research.9560.d135258 ¹³

F1000Research: Dataset 2. Results of student organizer surveys, 10.5256/f1000research.9560.d135259 ¹⁴