Science Communication Seminar

Description

Dr Chris Skinner - The SeriousGeoGames Lab – Immersive Storytelling and Earth Arcades

In this seminar, Dr Chris Skinner will share the history of the SeriousGeoGames Lab, the Earth Arcade, and the approaches to immersive storytelling and science exhibits that they used.

Dr Chris Skinner is a freelance researcher and science communicator, specialising in flooding, geomorphology, and numerical modelling. He was previously a Research Fellow in Flood Resilience at the Energy and Environment Institute, University of Hull, where he is now a Visiting Researcher. His professional practice includes running science-based exhibits, immersive storytelling, and workshops focussing on the value of imagination.

About the SeriousGeoGames

In 2016, the SeriousGeoGames Lab was established as a brand to launch the bespoke virtual reality activity, Humber in a Box. The activity is likely a world-first merging of a research-grade hydraulic model with a gaming engine, blending CAESAR-Lisflood with Unity-3D. This combination gave players the power to control sea levels in a virtual Humber Estuary and witness the resulting flooding. It helped facilitate conversations about future flood risk in Hull and dispel some harmful misconceptions.

Humber in a Box is an example of immersive storytelling, a method where audiences are placed within the story using technologies like 360 video and virtual reality. The SeriousGeoGames Lab continued to explore immersive storytelling across different settings. With Flash Flood! the focus was on visitors to the Earth Arcade, a flexible exhibition space for public events (e.g. science festivals). It used virtual reality and real research data to immerse visitors into river value experiencing a flash flood.

Inundation Street focussed instead on audiences only, exploiting 360 video functionality on YouTube. It shows people what it is like to find your house flooded and shows some simple actions they can take to become more resilient. It has been viewed over 3.5 million times. Finally, the videos Help Callum and Help Sali used 360 videos to place users in the shows of children affected by flooding, hearing their real-life stories told in their own words. Classroom materials were co-created with teachers and young people to support the use of the videos as part of school classes.