Crastina is a platform for the exchange of experience, knowledge and inspiration regarding both scientific peer-to-peer communication and science dissemination

What? An international network of (mostly young) people who love to communicate science & tech.
Why? We think science needs to be communicated with more passion and professionalism.
Where? On our website with interviews & resources + on social media + on Skype and IRL.
Who? A content group (the Crew), a think tank (the Academy), + lots of friends & contacts.
When? Right now – as a matter of fact, we’ve just geared up.

Darwinopterus settles in at Lapworth Museum of Geology in Birmingham

A pterosaur acting as your museum guide – that is the elegant setting of a promotional video from Lapworth Museum of Geology at the University of Birmingham. “Trying new ways of filming is all part of the process of learning what your perspective…

How-to & Useful stuff

Doodler and graphic recorder Dr. Jess Wade: “making art should be part of your lab report”

Jess Wade, postdoc in physics at Imperial Collage, has taken her personal doodling to the next level and become a graphic recorder. In this way, she can combine two of her passions – science communication and art. On Twitter, she lets…

News & Announcements

Stelum – a new platform for brief and simple explanations

A multinational team, lead by Vienna-based Dmitry and Alex Chekh, is currently preparing the launch of a new kind of knowledge resource on the web. Stelum is an online collaborative platform for short explanations to which anyone can contribute.…

Our current theme: “SciComm in Africa”

Pearl Osirike: “The beginning of a new era: science communication in Africa”

A Crastina Column by Pearl Osirike, Ph.D. student at West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), University of Ghana.

Read the Crastina Column

This time, we will learn more about SciComm activities emerging from a geographical area which is often overlooked in the general discussion about science and its communication: Africa.

On the one hand, it is true that African academia has to cope with persistent challenges like poor funding, inadequate infrastructure, staff shortages and recruitment problems. The everyday struggle of experimental scientists is hard to imagine for those who work in labs in Europe and North America. For example, the difficulty of transporting tissue samples and biomolecules sometimes add weeks and months to projects – parcels are lost, frozen samples become thawed and are ruined on the way, et cetera.

On the other hand, anyone who studies the websites of African universities and research institutes will be met by an impressing vitality and optimism. Innumerous projects are ongoing across this vast continent, and many of them include SciComm activities which all provide a lesson for anyone ready to read, ask and reflect.

We have rarely felt such anticipation when initiating a theme here at Crastina; we are confident that we all – authors and readers have much – to learn.

For The Crastina Crew

Olle Bergman, Project Leader