Soapbox Science Plymouth
Grassroots science outreach project
is a novel public outreach platform for promoting women scientists and the science they do. Our events around the world transform public areas into an arena for public learning and scientific debate with the aim to encourage women in science and also challenge perceptions of who a scientist is.
With Soapbox Science, we want to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy, learn from, heckle, question, probe, interact with and be inspired by some of our leading scientists. No middle man, no PowerPoint slide, no amphitheatre – just remarkable scientists who are there to amaze with their latest discoveries, and to answer the science questions the public have been burning to ask.
The University of Plymouth has participated in Soapbox Science for a number of years and our events are detailed below.
Soapbox Science 2026
Sunday 7 June, Royal William Yard
Talks:
- How mountains move: an insight into earthquake-triggered landslides (speaker:
Amy Beswick ) - Material Matters (speaker: Mandy Burton)
- Making Waves: Connecting People and the Sea (speaker:
Maisy Fuller )
- Cryo to Comeback: The Secret Life of Moss Conservation (speaker:
Izadora Kervin ) - What can animal personality teach us about environmental change? (speaker: Eleanor Pinkney)
- Stress-Testing the Future of Our Food (speaker: Bethany Smerdon)
Soapbox Science 2025
Talks included:
- Crustaceans in a changing world: what could happen and why does it matter? (speaker:
Katie Nicole Grace Thiessen ) - Healthy cells, healthy brain (speaker:
Dr Evelina Valionyte )
- Seaweed restoration in Plymouth – who cares?! (speaker: Tayla Leathers)
- The wonderful world of crustacean sensation! (speaker:
Ari Drummond ) - Exploring novel antibiotic compounds from flowers: a natural approach to combating infections (speaker: Darshana Srivastava)
Soapbox Science 2023
Talks included:
- How to train your brain...to control machines (speaker:
Dr Krithika Anil ) - Science research is for everyone – there is no such thing as a 'subject for boys' (speaker:
Dr Vikki Cheung ) - Can the sea power my kettle? (speaker:
Dr Keri Collins )
- Helping Nemo: How can science support the marine ornamental industry? (speaker: Sancha Conway Holroyd)
- The science of sensing sentience: What can hermit crabs tell us about the evolution of sentience in non-human animals? (speaker:
Ari Drummond ) - Aphantasia: What does it mean to think without pictures? (speaker: Stephanie Hartgen-Walker)
- Do plants behave and grow the same in a lab and in a field? (speaker:
Dr Anne Plessis )
Soapbox Science 2021
Soapbox Science Plymouth took place virtually this year, opening the event up to an even wider audience.
Female scientists from around the South West gave talks on anything from ‘robots to rockpools’ with props and an online live interactive session to make learning fun!
13:00 – The natural world
Lisa Butt – University of Exeter | How can microbes help control plant disease?
Dr Sarah Lane – University of Plymouth | Rock pool fight club
Dr Anne Plessis – University of Plymouth | Do plants behave and grow the same in a lab and in a field?
14:00 – All about us
Leonie Cooper – University of Plymouth | Using social robots as talk-based therapists
Stephanie Hartgen-Walker – University of Plymouth | Pictures in the mind: Do we visualise the same?
Dr Chloe Milsom – University of Plymouth | Our multi-CELLular selves
Andrea Stebbings – University of Plymouth | Women, babies and birth: where is the science in that?
15:00 – Food matters
Kelley Henn, Community Engagement Officer and Dietitian – Well Connected | You are what you eat – making the science of nutrition more digestible
Wendy Smith MBE – Well Connected | The science of toothbrushing; fluoride, 120 seconds and you!
Dr Abigail Tronco Hernandez – University of Plymouth | What you eat matters to prevent and recover from COVID-19
