The Truth About Making Science Outreach Work Worldwide

In part two of my S5E35 ⁨@schoolutionspodcast⁩ conversation, science busker and communicator David Price with @ScienceMadeSimpleUK⁩ joins me to unpack what happens when you take STEM education to the streets. From crossing language barriers without a single word to designing classroom belonging through hands-on phenomena to building STEM kits for classrooms where balloons are a luxury, this episode is packed with practical insights for anyone who cares about inspiring students and transforming how we teach.

In this episode:
➡️Why student participation skyrockets when you lead with play, not lecture
➡️How mimicry and observation are the original instructional strategies — and why schools train it out of kids
➡️The "Odd One Out" technique for sparking student engagement and scientific thinking from minute one
➡️How to design for inclusive classrooms where language, cost, and jargon aren't barriers
➡️What the Singapore National Science Busking Championship reveals about empowered educators and student success
➡️Why effective teaching starts with you, not a script, not a lab, not a budget

💫Make sure to watch Part 1 & here are some episode Mentions:

• Lightyear Foundation 
• British Interactive Group (BIG)  
• Singapore National Science Busking Championships 

Chapters:
0:00 — Welcome Back & Part 1 Recap
1:45 — Going Global: Language & Cultural Barriers in Science Busking
3:30 — Why Wordless Performance Works: The Power of Observation & Mimicry
5:00 — Learning-Doing: The Inseparable Pair
6:30 — Can Visualize Come Back? A Call to Funders
7:00 — Holding the Mission Sacred While Running a Real Business
8:30 — Meet the Science Made Simple Team
9:30 — STEM Education in Ghana: Designing Kits for Equity
11:30 — Building Science Busking Kits for Any Context
13:00 — Teaching the Scientific Method as a Phenomenon
14:00 — Connecting Science to Real-Life Phenomena in the Classroom
16:00 — Thinking, Doing, Talking Science: The Odd One Out Technique
17:30 — Building Student Confidence to Question & Explore
18:30 — Advice for Aspiring Science Communicators
20:00 — The Most Effective Communicator Is YOU
21:00 — Find Your Community: British Interactive Group & Science Communication Masters
22:30 — What Still Feels Unfinished: Singapore Busking Championships & a Dream for Europe
24:00 — Closing Reflections & Three Takeaways
26:00 — Next Week: Urban Planner Sabina Unni on School Streets

🎧 New episodes every Monday & Friday with bite-sized Wednesday reel bonus content.
📧 Connect with me if you’d like a thought partner to help you cultivate curious learners who advocate for what they believe in.
🎵 Music: Benjamin Wahl

Next week: I am so excited to introduce you to urban planner Sabina Sethi Unni, who is on a mission to transform the clogged streets in front of New York City schools into outdoor classrooms, block parties, and safe spaces for kids to actually breathe. She is going to break down exactly how the School Streets program with Open Plans works and what it would take to bring it to every school in the city.

When coaches, teachers, administrators, and families work hand in hand, it fosters a school atmosphere where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged in their learning journey.

Transcript

Olivia: [00:00:00] Welcome back to my Part Two Conversation with David Price. If you haven't listened to part one, pause right now. Go back and then come meet us here. In part one, David Price took us inside the art and science of busking. The body language, the Golden Volunteer, the proprioception demo that honestly made my morning.

Now in part two, we zoom out. We're talking about what it means to take this work global. Crossing language barriers without a single word. Building STEM kits for classrooms where balloons are a luxury. Keeping a mission sacred while running a real business. And what David Price still hasn't finished yet.

This is Schoolutions. The podcast that extends education beyond the classroom. A show that isn't just theory, but practical try-it-tomorrow approaches for educators and [00:01:00] caregivers to ensure every student finds their spark and receives the support they need to thrive. 

Welcome back listeners. This is part two of my conversation with the amazing David Price. Uh, if you have not tuned into our part one conversation, pause this episode, listen and then come back. David, welcome back. Uh, in part one of our conversation, you described what -  actually we got to live a science busk in a way. And so that's, it's so captivating for listeners to go back and experience that.

We also talked about, um, just the nuances of, you know, how do buskers even pick the golden person to join in, in the performance? What makes a good science busk - the science festivals, all of that. Goodness. I really wanna talk in part two about going global and what it means to have to run [00:02:00] this enterprise while finding joy in the nuances of the work and, um, maintaining your mission because your mission is very clear. Um, so with that said, the idea of language barriers and cultural barriers. I loved learning about the Visualize approach and I know it is no longer, I am a little devastated. 

David: Oh, sad. Yeah, 

Olivia: It's so sad. Um, but you still have to address language and cultural barriers when you're traveling around the world. So how do you do that as a street performer? 

David: So, so Visualize, um, was this beautiful thing where it was a, it was a, it was a theater piece. It was designed to work in theaters and bringing schools and family audiences in theaters. A boat STEM, but it had no words at all. No words. Words were forbidden through the whole, through the whole thing. [00:03:00] Two science clowns played with beautiful phenomenon phenomena set to a beautiful soundtrack, set to a beautiful slideshow, really. Uh, and because it had no words, it didn't need any translation. Anybody from any work could go in there and get something outta that show. And then as people left, we would back that up if people wanted more information with, with, with, with, with sheet, with handouts about, and, and references to the website where you could dive a little deeper into the science.

But on the stage itself, Gaz and Debbie, my wonderful colleagues, my two science, my two science clown colleagues, uh, do not, did not utter a word. Um, and I think one of the things that street performance STEM has going for it is, okay, there are some words, but so much of it is done by holding and feeling and experiencing [00:04:00] and smiling and the body language of what we're doing. Um, so I'm busking in Hong Kong now, and for the last three years that I've done this, that I've done this gig. Although the shows when we go into schools, they're translated of amazing translators here. Um, but the busking itself. Um, everybody's, it doesn't need it. David, people can pick up on your cues what you are doing and how you are doing.

And they get, and, and, and they get, and then they can translate for each other around little points where they might not be so sure what, what you're, what you're saying. And I think that's a, that's a big thing that street performance takes with it. It's not just about what you say. It, it's, it's what you do.

Olivia: Yeah. It, it's something I learned recently, um, from Dr. Benjamin Freud. He's at the Green School in Bali, and he said, learning isn't through doing. [00:05:00] It's actually learning and doing, and he wishes it could be one word. Learning&doing, learning. Learning&doing. And that's really what, as you're, as you're describing, that's what I also see that science learning&doing it, it really captivates the audience. And there's also this notion of mimicry that I, I think as a teacher of where children are, they're watching, we need models, um, and to, to mimic but then also you watch each other, you watch the movements, and that's a skillset. To be able to observe 

David: This. This is it. This is it. It it, it's, children are amazing at it and we do frankly, awful job of knocking that outta them through the education process. You know, the, they/re born as experts in mini mimicry, which is observation really when you boil it down, you know? Yes. Very, very well said. 

Olivia: Yeah. It's, it's so fascinating to me. And [00:06:00] so I think even though, um you know, Visualize doesn't currently exist, my hope and dream would be that it can come back in some iteration, even with updates and the tech and, and all that we know now because it is powerful that the idea of not being able to use words, but to have the visual and to be able to take in an experience, um, with the slides and the movement. I, I think that's really powerful.

David: Uh, heavyweight funders take note - that if there is somebody out there who wants to fund a, a, a, Visualize mock two as it were, Visualize the recreation, then yeah, we would be very interested to talk to you. 

Olivia: Maybe, maybe we could do re-Visualize David, 

David: re-Visualize, 

Olivia: re-Visualize or visualize again. Um. Okay, so the mission of science made simple, I want to read it specifically. Uh, it's “to break down [00:07:00] obstacles to learning by engaging people with STEM as part of popular culture, the skills and careers.” So how do you hold that mission sacred while you do have to make a profit as a business to keep this going?

David: Sometimes it can be really hard because we get in invitations to events all over the world, multiples of them every year. But we can't do it because so often these things, wonderful events, but you know, maybe they pay your accommodation and some, um, travel, um, but no fee. Um, and, and, and, and they'd often say, well, you know. Please come along and think of the exposures that you'll get at this event. Well, you know, the, the, the bottom line is the exposure really does not pay your mortgage. Um, and so we can't do them. And, and, and it is often a case of working with [00:08:00] clients and working with an organization to help them find a source of funding so that we can work together. 

Olivia: Yeah. So let's talk Science Made Simple team. Who is on the team because you are the jet setter. Are there other street buskers?

David: I’ve been extremely lucky. I have been, all of us in science made simple have, uh, areas of expertise. I Director Wendy, that's diversity and inclusion. You know, my colleague, who I work with, with the amazing Ruth Perkin, Ruth, Ruth Perkins is um, is sort of working with STEM pupils. So we all have areas of expertise. I was really lucky in that time when I was winning awards. Then I, oh, this is my version of it. Anyway, when, when that time when I was winning awards for busking and busking training and these sorts of things, then busking was quite an in thing. Science communication is like every other aspect of life. As you wait long enough, it'll come around [00:09:00] again.

Um, and it was an in topic, and so organizations and science centers and universities were looking around for people in the world who, who could train in these skills. And I'm just about then I was just about the only one. 

Olivia: Okay. 

David: So for, for, so for the best part of a decade, my calendar was full of, of, you know, and this is where I did most of the traveling around ar ar around, around, around our planet. So it, I think I was, I, I had the right skills at the right time. 

Olivia: Got it. Okay. So then knowing that you've also been on the board of trustees, I believe it was, um, the, the Lightyear Foundation. 

David: Lightyear Foundation, yes. 

Olivia: Right. As a Ghanaian, um, educational charity. What did STEM education look like when you are [00:10:00] playing that role on a board?

David: So working with pupils and people in Ghana, uh, and in Africa. And, and in, in, in the, in, if, if we say the developing world, um, you look at a classroom setting and you walk into that classroom, maybe there's a hundred pupils, you know, one teacher. But, but that's not the thing that blew me away. You walk into that classroom and a certain percentage of those pupils are adults. And they're only there because it's the only time in their life when they know have the money where they can afford to indulge in education. And it, it's just so you, you, you are creating, you're designing a busking kit to go out to, to such schools and you realize that you can't include balloons in it.

[00:11:00] Get a re, you know, a a, a sort of an accessible supply, a regular supply of balloons. So you have to think your way around the kit that they use, making sure the materials are accessible for them. Um. Things like things, things, things like, like you do an amazing job. I'm no longer on, I'm no longer on the board. I haven't been so for, for a while. But they do an absolutely incredible job of of, of taking high quality science communication to where it's needed in the world. Yeah. 

Olivia: Yeah. So then let's take a moment because that's fascinating to me. Thinking of the science busking kit creation, um, how do you decide, based on where you're going to land, you know, how much in advance do you have to reach out to create these kits? How do you get them there? How do you decide on the resources that you're going to include? 

David: It's talking, that comes down to talking to the clients and, and, and we have a standard kit [00:12:00] of things that are pretty easy, pretty easy to access in many, not all places, but many places, and we tend to train using that kit because it gives people a step up. It gives people something concrete that they can grab all of and attach the playfulness around STEM too. Uh, but then very often, and particularly with researchers, we work with them and of course they have their own research. 

And what I think is the skills of street performers, busking skills can be transferred to any branch of STEM, if you think hard enough about it, if you give yourself a chance, if you, if you, you know, if, if you sit there and relax and think around and think, think, think around it very often we get researchers who say, but there's nothing in my topic that is, is I don't belong to one of the physical [00:13:00] sciences where you have something, you know, it's an idea in a, in, in, in, in a way.

And we say to them, well, even if your topic was really tricky, what about using the scientific method? 'cause that is something that vast stretches of the public in around this planet know very little about. And yet it's a fun, amazing set of rules that govern what scientists do. You know, knowing more about giving people a chance to know more about that is a, is a, is frankly quite a beautiful thing. Uh, yeah. 

Olivia: David, something you're making me think a lot about. Um, my work as a coach, I get to spend time with science teachers, um, middle and high school science teachers, and I have this privilege of also having them unzip their brains around their science curricula and how they're crafting it. Many of the science teachers I'm working with. Are moving to connecting science standards [00:14:00] with phenomena that happen in the natural world for children. And so that phenomena is an anchor for the scientific method for the conversations they're having. And then they're also researching where the phenomena happens locally. So the students are able then to connect, wow, here's the phenomena of drought, or, um, the in, in then they're connecting it to droughts that they're experiencing locally, so they can see that happening. Um, I think there's a great power to also connecting the, the method itself. That's so interesting to me. 

David: And I think what it, what it does or what you just described beautifully, that it's giving that STEM a real-life setting.

Olivia: Yeah. 

David: So it's not this isolated thing. It's something that has a relationship with your life. And then there becomes much more of a reason and a[00:15:00] depth too. We wrote a show for, um math teachers in Wales, and we asked them, we asked several thousand math teachers in Wales what, um, what, what does pupils say? What's the most common thing? What relevance does this have to my life? You know, so we've created a show to try and reflect the math, the maths that happens in a standard lesson, but, but, but by giving it real-life settings. And I think that's a really powerful thing we can do with, with so much STEM. Yeah. 

Olivia: Yeah. Yeah. That idea of where are we going to use this? Why do I have to learn this? Um, in the book I'm working on, I actually am taking note of the spicy questions students ask, um, and the pushback because as a teacher, you need to be able to answer those questions, um, and to engage kids um, getting them into that idea of explorer mode versus just the [00:16:00] passive showing up to school mode. 

David: Exactly. There's a, we do, we do we, we worked on a teacher training project. It was actually teacher training research in the UK called Thinking, Doing, Talking Science. 

Olivia: Ah. 

David: So Thinking, Doing, Talking Science. Well worth looking up if you're into that sort of thing. And one of the starting, and this was, this, was, this was science teaching for primary school teachers who weren't science specific teachers. Uh, and it's most of the lessons started off with the. Odd one out. So three things, three physical things in front of you. Piece of chocolate, piece of ice, uh, a painting, a plant, a cactus, something like that. And say, okay, talk to me what, which is odd one out. And, and, and, and eventually that goes onto the, the, the science topic. But, but that's not the point. The point is it got them questioning things. It got them getting used to vocalizing their thoughts. [00:17:00] Uh, it, it got them getting used to this idea of there's no wrong answer. Incorrect answer, as long as you can justify your answer. Really simple steps like that. Just getting pupiles being able to express themselves around STEM a little bit more. Play as, or as I put it, play with STEM. 

Olivia: Play with STEM, and build confidence. I'll go back to that strand. We began part one with. My goal, I hope our goal in this world of education is to build our students' confidence, to be able to engage in conversations that will make the human race better, make our planet better, um, and be able to push back if they hear information that they may know is not factual, but do it in a way that can be received because the way that a lot of adults are communicating right now in the world, it's not listening to each other. And I think our kids are [00:18:00] often much better at listening and receiving information and pondering and questioning and being curious. So I'd ask our adults to be just as curious.

David, um, let's end the end part two. I, I'm just so fascinated to know, you've mentioned teacher training programs and other training programs that you have created and, um, employed really, what advice would you have for someone that wanted to get in to street performance and science busking, 

David: Watch street performers. I think watch street performers, when you start looking at them, it's weird for ones that you can, you can watch a street performer and then come back a couple of weeks later and watch the same person and they're doing exactly the same thing. You know that, that, that's that I, I think. People think that they're making it up on the spot that they, and of course they're great at improv. They are fantastic at [00:19:00] improv around volunteers, but the material they use, it's identical down to the choreography of where they're standing. It's minutely observed, so go and observe some street performers and see if it, if it, if it interests you. You don't now, here we go. Yeah. You don't have to be, I mean, me, I'm like a, when I'm on stage, I'm like a kangaroo on steroids, you know, um, I bounce around. Wha I'm all over the place. You do not have to be like that. 

You do not. I have some colleagues who are amazing, uh, buskers, who do it in a very calm, forthright, upbeat way, you know, completely unlike me. The great thing about those skills, they're adaptable. Busking skills are adaptable enough to suit who you're, and that's what we always trained to. I, I have, I hope, I never say, you know, don't be that person, be somebody else. It's because the most effective person [00:20:00] you can be in a STEM communication scenario is you. It's bringing you to the party. You know, if the people can see some of your passion, some of your likes and dislikes and hopes and fears around that topic, then it becomes a real thing to them, you know?

Um, and also it has the, the very good benefit of not. Scientists with lots of grey hair, uh, with safety spectacles and white coats. You know, it, it portrays them as real people with the same hopes and fear as the rest of us. Um, another thing I would say is try and find the local Association for Science Communication, in the UK. One of that I absolutely is a, you don't have to be in the UK to join it. People join it from all over the world. And that's called the British Interactive Group, B-I-G BIG. Uh, and I would not be in science communication, but for the [00:21:00] people in big. X number of years ago, 20 odd years ago, saying, David, you got a good idea though, with the street performance side of thing.

I carry on with that. I’d carry on pushing that. See if you can find some funding for that. You know, they supported me while, while, while, while, while I, I got my qualifications, if you like, and that I think. A good, a good thing to do. Maybe if you're into it, do a science communication masters if you're into that sort of thing, because they're being offered more and more around the world. Um, and, and, and this is, don't give up, you know, I mean, it's been said so many times that, but honestly, what I do is is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration is still one of the truest things. I've I've probably heard that on the Simpsons. But it's so true. It's so utterly, utterly true. 

Olivia: Yeah. 

David: Don't, don't let [00:22:00] anybody tell you to go in and do something else. Keep on it. Um, and you get somewhere, eventually you get somewhere. 

Olivia: So I'll end on this question. What still feels unfinished to you that keeps you going? Because this has got to be exhausting work. You, I'm sure it's joyful. You have a lot of energy, but my gosh, the travel and it's gotta be draining. 

David: The public - I, I, I don't suppose there's any science to this, but, but nonetheless, it's absolutely true that you can feed off the energy of your public, your public's enthusiasm becomes your energy. Um, and that like, yeah, but it's just true. It just is true. What have I got to? What is, what is left? There's a competition that people should look up in the world, and it's called Singapore National Science Busking Championships. I've been its trainer twice. I've been the official trainer twice, and that. When I [00:23:00] went to that, it was like, I couldn't believe it. All of these people really tough, really, really arduous series of exercises that they have essentially presenting their material, the buskers present their material to different audiences.

Olivia: Oh, wow. 

David: Uh, the two girls who won that when I, when I, when I first attended it in 2012, were called the sci-fi girls and they were talking about volcanology, but that, that doesn't matter really. Who, whoever trained them, I take my heart off. They were, they used every technique in the book. I imagine them. Their 11-year-olds when I went back, back then. 

So now what? They'll be sort of coming outta university in early career and I imagine them as scientists and engineers. I'm trying to find out what they did actually end up doing. Um, yeah. But I imagine them as scientists and engineers using those skills to sell their science to the world. [00:24:00] And I, I want those sort of experiences to be accessible to more people. Um, and, and that competition is already, already existing in, it's started just relatively recently, it started in Africa. Um, I would love to bring something like that to Europe and find a way of sustainably funding it. Yeah. 

Olivia: David, this has been the most fascinating, um, inspirational conversation. Science communication may seem like it's dull, but it is not dull if David Price is involved. No, and the concept of science busking was so captivating to me, so thank you for taking the time to have this conversation. I appreciate you so much. 

David: Thank you, Olivia. It was an absolute pleasure doing this. Really enjoyed every moment of it. 

Olivia: Yeah. Take care. 

David: Thank you.

Olivia: I need to give a huge thank you to David Price. I need to thank [00:25:00] him for the joy, the honesty, the vision, and for recording that episode at 7:30 on a Hong Kong evening just because science communication matters that much to him. I hope you as listeners walk away from this conversation a little more willing to play with an idea. To roll a ball at a stranger and to ask why out loud. 

Three takeaways I'm leaving this conversation with: Our body can be our best science kit from proprioception to mimicry, the most powerful STEM engagement tools require nothing more than curiosity and a willingness to play, not a lab, not a budget, and not even language is required. Second, street performance and science communication share the same secret: You don't need a captive audience if you know how to build one. The skills are learnable, adaptable, and [00:26:00] completely yours to own. And third, science busking isn't just entertainment, it's equity. When we strip away jargon, cost, and language barriers, science belongs to everyone. Whether you're in a Hong Kong festival, a Ghanaian classroom, or a town square in India. 

And I need to ask a favor, Science Made Simple is a social enterprise, which means your support, your sharing, and your attention genuinely keeps this mission moving. I've included links to their work, the British Interactive Group, and the Singapore National Science Busking Championships, all in the show notes. If you are a heavyweight funder, those are David's words, not mine, there is a wordless, borderless science theater show called Visualize that deserves to exist again. Reach out, make it happen. The world needs more of this. 

Coming up on Schoolutions next week, I am [00:27:00] so excited to introduce you to Urban Planner, Sabina Sethi Unni. She is on a mission to transform the clogged streets in front of New York City schools into outdoor classrooms, block parties and safe spaces for kids to actually breathe. Sabina breaks down exactly how the School Streets program with Open Plans works. And what it would take to bring it to every school in the city. If you care about where children learn, not just what they learn, this one is for you. 

Schoolutions Podcast is created, produced, and edited by me. Olivia Wahl. Thank you to my older son Benjamin, who created the music playing in the background. You can follow and listen to Schoolutions wherever you get your podcasts or subscribe to never miss an episode and watch on YouTube. 

Thank you to my guest, David Price for reminding us that science isn't something you sit and receive; It's something you do feel and share, and the street [00:28:00] performers of the world have known this long before the classroom ever caught on. 

Reach out to me@oliviawahl.com if you'd like a thought partner to help you cultivate curious learners who advocate for what they believe in. And tune in every Monday and Friday for part one and two of my guest conversations with the best evidence-based, classroom ready strategies that you can apply right away to better the lives of the children in your care. Your 60 second bite-sized piece of learning from our conversation will be waiting for you on Wednesdays to share with a colleague. Take care and thank you for forever getting better with me. See you next week.