Storytelling Science

Enriching the Mostowy Lab’s research through communicating science through creative workshops

Storytelling Science was a project that aims to share insights and stories from the scientific research of the Mostowy Lab to engage and excite audiences about a range of topics including trained innate immunity and science citizenship through creative workshops. The results were shared at events at Manchester Metropolitan University and Central Saint Martins in Summer 2022.

Supported by a Wellcome Trust Research Enrichment Grant and by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. The project is being run with Central Saint Martins, Manchester Metropolitan University, and Volda University College. Part of a larger project produced by Animate Projects and Samantha Moore.

Discover more about the workshops that were delivered by the students from Central Saint Martins and Manchester Metropolitan University from November 2020 to June 2021 below.

Storytelling Science: A programme of free visual storytelling workshops, devised and delivered by Central Saint Martins students.

Discover bacterial microworlds!

Creative online workshops exploring the science of our immune systems + Shigella bacterial infection through game-making and socially engaging games.

How can you cage bacteria? How do bacteria escape? How do cells talk to each other? How do tiny, blob shaped bacteria make us so sick? Are they truly evil… or just trying to stay alive? Do our bodies have bouncers to try and keep them out? 

In February half term, students from Central Saint Martins ran free online creative visual storytelling workshops for people aged 13-17. Merging art and science the workshops used a range of storytelling techniques in graphics, illustration and animation to create visual narratives.

In these interactive workshop, participants explored the fascinating science of the human immune system and Shigella bacteria. One workshop focused on a creative role-playing game of deception, secret language, and storytelling, looking at how cells and other important characters in our body defend against infection. The other offered participants the opportunity to design a game in a hands-on game making workshop, where everyday materials were used to make tabletop games in order to play out the battle between the deadly Shigella bacteria and the human immune system.

The workshops are designed for young people with an interest in art and/or science, seeking interesting experiences and unusual portfolio material. All participants learnt hands on creative techniques and generated visual stories using a mix of skills.

Storytelling Science: A programme of free visual storytelling workshops, devised and delivered by by Manchester Metropolitan University students.

These Storytelling Science workshops ran on Zoom every Saturday morning in March 2021, and were open to people aged 13-17 in the Greater Manchester area.

The interactive workshops were inspired by the zebrafish and the cells being studied in the Mostowy Lab, and by creatively considering their form and role to explore how we can understand this research better. Participants had the opportunity to develop artwork connected to science through a range of methods including storyboards, animation and GIFs, and to utilise the role of transparency in art with household materials.

With experience in microbiology, animation, textiles and much more, the student leaders took participants on a virtual journey into and beyond the lab. The workshop leaders used their diverse academic specialities to help participants uncover the mysteries of Shigella, zebrafish and scientific cell hypotheses in creative and unusual ways. ​

MMU: Storytelling Science – reflection on a collaboration between artists, scientists, and students

Thursday 26 May 2022, 4-6pm
Screening space of the SODA building, ground floor

Manchester Metropolitan University
14 Higher Chatham St, Manchester M15 6ED

Still from the video produced by the Shigella Shake-Up workshop leaders

Uniting members of the Mostowy Lab, artist Samantha Moore & Man Met staff and students, the outcomes of the Wellcome Trust supported ‘Storytelling Science’ project will be explored. Featuring animations produced by Samantha Moore and microbiologist Serge Mostowy including recently completed research informed fairytale A Language of Shapes.

CSM: Storytelling Science – reflections on a collaboration between artists, scientists, and students

Thursday 9 June 2022, 6-7pm
On zoom – recording of the event below

Bringing together members of the Mostowy Lab, artist Samantha Moore, lecturer/facilitator Heather Barnett, and students of Central Saint Martins (CSM), the process, and outcomes of the Wellcome Trust supported Storytelling Science project will be discussed. Featuring video documentation of the visual storytelling workshops that the CSM students developed and delivered, inspired by the research of the Mostowy Lab.

Header image: Gif produced during the Story of a Zebrafish workshop led by Manchester Metropolitan University.

Thumbnail image: Produced by Lau Shiu Chit (Ben), workshop leader from Central Saint Martins.

Storytelling Science events: Still from the video produced by the ‘Shigella Shake-Up’ workshop leaders at MMU, and the Miro board produced by the ‘Chit, Chat and Catch: Shigella is Around!!’ workshop leaders at CSM.

Poster: Designed by Maciej Rackiewicz at CSM.

Zebrafish animation with wool: Made by Eleanor Walker at MMU.

Video documentation of workshops: Victoria Dahl.