Introduction and summary
This session presents a timely opportunity to explore the multifaceted role of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) within the broader context of scientific progress and societal engagement. The sessions focused on valuable insights from historical precedents, such as the role of the Catholic Church, particularly the Jesuits, in the dissemination of scientific knowledge during the early modern period. While the case of Galileo Galilei highlights the potential limitations to scientific freedom, it also underscores the importance of public support and public engagement efforts. As Galileo himself recognized, effective communication with the public, including policymakers like the House of Medici, is crucial for the advancement of scientific inquiry.
The transformative potential of the JWST for our understanding of the Universe is undeniable. However, as the discussions during the other sessions clearly demonstrated, it is equally important to ensure that this impact extends beyond the confines of our scientific community and reaches the broader public. The sessions delved into the power of captivating imagery, the importance of international collaboration to reach global audiences, and innovative approaches to connect with diverse populations, including the intriguing intersection of art and science.
The JWST project has demonstrated remarkable success in fostering public interest in astronomy by drawing on the positive experiences gleaned from public engagement with the Hubble Space Telescope. From the momentous launch event to the awe-inspiring release of the first images, JWST has captured the imagination of various sectors of our society. This session serves as an opportunity to build upon this momentum and further refine our strategies for fostering public understanding and appreciation of the JWST's groundbreaking scientific contributions.
Klaus Pontoppidan from JPL gave us a behind-the-scenes perspective on the production of the first JWST images. Klaus highlighted the motivation and choices with an emphasis of the importance of planning for such a mission as JWST. The short presentations put together a myriad of specific examples from the JWST community. Some of the key points:
Antonella Nota highlighted the importance of international collaboration and availability of resources from the Space Agencies, NASA, ESA and CSA – and some luck – for a global reach.
Nathalie Nguyen-Quoc explained the importance of providing personal stories about the Canadian researchers involved in the JWST mission and allowing youth to take on the role of scientists themselves by imagining what they would observe with the JWST. Given Canada’s small amount of resources for JWST outreach, it is also important to leverage the astronomers themselves and provide them with support and training in science communication. Nathalie also stressed the need to provide materials in different languages.
Marcia Rieke showed how to use real JWST data to engage with pre-University students and teachers: https://jades-survey.github.io/public/for-teachers.html
Jeyhan Kartaltepe, discussed the recent experiences of using JWST data in citizen science projects, like Galaxy Zoo. These initiatives are good examples of the importance of public participation in scientific research.
Ewine van Dishoeck provided a comprehensive overview of the JWST outreach activities in the Netherlands, with some examples ranging from political engagement, working with planetariums, the importance of physical scale models of JWST as eye-catchers and partnering with professionals, for example, for the development of the JWST Universe exhibition.
During the discussion, some relevant remarks and suggestions were discussed, namely:
- Working with libraries: Libraries could act as multipliers, they have strong links with the communities and are always looking for new content and activities.
- Reach underserved and under-reached communities, for example, by engaging with the IAU Offices for Astronomy Outreach and for Education; they have national coordinators across countries that are members of these communities and understand their needs, constraints, and realities better than we do; it is important that we listen to them.
- JWST’s budget crisis in 2020/2011 is a good reminder of the importance of policy engagement, which is long-term, time-consuming, but potentially highly impactful.
- Taking into consideration the upcoming PAS workshop on Indigenous Peoples' Knowledge and the Sciences, more work needs to be done to work closely with Indigenous Peoples, which can be an insightful and enriching experience for both communities.
- The right balance between institutional support for outreach and the support of researchers to conduct outreach activities and programs.
- Public Outreach needs resources (and budgets), and the number of 3% of the mission’s budget from STScI is a good indicator.