Kona Meetup to Explore Science Outreach in Pictures

Good science is important, but it’s notoriously hard to explain. Even though scientists may be doing groundbreaking research, they sometimes struggle to capture the attention — let alone the comprehension — of the average person. One effective strategy, then, is to skip a thousand words, and go with a picture instead.

Photographer and videographer Christine Shepard founded Coral Cove Imagery after working in science outreach for the Shark Research Lab at the University of Miami. There she was tasked with sparking public interest, explaining the goals and practical benefits of research, boosting scientific literacy in the community and inspiring people to pursue careers in STEM.

Shepard will be the featured speaker at this month’s West Hawaii Tech Pau Hana, taking place on Monday. She will talk about her work in Florida, as well as provide practical tips on how to incorporate visual media into outreach and marketing efforts. Her presentation is geared both toward scientists as well as business owners.

Shepard’s work has been published in Popular Science, Scientific American, and even Oprah’s O magazine, and she was a winner in the Nature’s Best International Photography Competition and a finalist in the BBC’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year. She has also been a contributor to and guest host of the Daily Planet science news show on the Discovery Channel.

At Coral Cove Imagery, Shepard and her producer wife Sam run a full-service media production company specializing in underwater, aerial, and commercial photography and video services, including for luxury real estate, architecture, and product marketing. You can learn more at CoralCoveImagery.com, on Facebook, on Instagram, or on Vimeo.

The monthly West Hawaii Tech Monday Pau Hana events have been going on since July 2011, after Big Island members of the Tech Hui online community were inspired to bring their conversations into the real world. Held every fourth Monday, they are open to anyone involved or interested in technology, offering special presentations and the opportunity to network with engineers, scientists, programmers, and other people in the tech industry.

The gatherings are coordinated by Rod Hinman, an electrical engineer who consults on electronics prototyping and energy projects, and are usually hosted at the Natural Energy Lab of Hawaii (NELHA), an ocean science and tech park located north of Kona.

The late Guy Toyama, a “renewable energy trailblazer” and beloved community organizer, also helped get Tech Monday Pau Hana going. The Guy Toyama Memorial Fund was established to honor his legacy via scholarships and grants. The fund’s second annual fundraising event, the fun “Guy Toyama Games,” will be held on Sunday, Nov. 22 at Hale Halawai from 1 to 5 p.m.

Shepard’s talk will be held the next day, on Monday, Nov. 23 from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the NELHA Gateway Center (73-4460 Queen Ka’ahumanu Hwy.).

To sign up for Rod Hinman’s West Hawaii Tech Pau Hana email list, which features science, tech, and entrepreneurship events in and around Kona, visit tinyletter.com/RodHinman. You can also find an archive of past newsletters there as well.