The sun, a prism, some thermometers and the curious Herschel siblings - Transformative science and performing arts

Performing arts provide us with attractive means to reach new audiences in Science Communication. Besides music also theatre play can be used to communicate both scientific discoveries AND their social background. A recent example is our original 30min theatre play on the discovery of the sun’s infrared radiation by the Herschel siblings in 1800 with the title: “Herschel and the invisible end of the rainbow”. The audience witnesses the historical discovery, which changed both science and our daily life, the sometimes hard life as scientists (and musicians as in the case of the Herschels), the fascination and curiosity that drives them and the role of women in science in the late 18th and early 19th century. By this, the history and relevance of the discovery of infrared radiation becomes alive and easily comprehensible. At the same time important topics like scientific team work, funding of science, equality and diversity are conveyed. The theater play is typically followed by discussions with scientists and by some hands-on experiments. All materials to stage the play in e.g. schools is provided for down load. Based on the experience with “Herschel and the invisible end of the rainbow” we are in the process to investigate several other transformative discoveries with an interesting social background for future performances in our “Science Theater”. For more info have a look at our website: https://space.univie.ac.at/en/projects/rainbow/theater-audio-play/