Online outreach

“Under Time’s Spell” tells the story of the measurement of time in the period 1300–1900. It is an online book in three languages that was written by Maarten Van Dyck to accompany an exhibition with the same name in 2017–2018 (produced by Historische Huizen Ghent and the Ghent University Museum/GUM). It uses an innovative format designed to facilitate an attractive combination of images and text, and it was produced by Binder Media/Manual.to and the Boekentoren/Book Tower (the central library at Ghent University).

"Truth seems to have sprung a leak, 

but facts were never really airtight. 

Travel back in time with us to a 17th century laboratory, 

where the first scientific facts were made."

In this project, Jana De Kockere, PhD researcher at the Sarton Centre for History of Science at Ghent University, reproduces certain experiments performed with the air-pump of Christiaan Huygens. She shows us how, in the 17th century laboratory, the fight for the boundaries of what counts as ‘good science’ was being fought out.

Technoculture is a series of conversations with experts in the fields of technology, art, and science. Together we explore how digital technology influences our lives, our experiences, and ultimately what it means to be human today. Topics range from cybersecurity to audiobooks, from virtual reality to time travels to the Viking age. The host of the podcast is Federica Bressan, a Marie Curie and Fulbright researcher with an interest in the co-evolution of society and technology. Technoculture was a finalist at the MSCA2019 award for science communication.

Massimiliano Simons has a blog for Eos, a Dutch–Flemish popular science magazine that appears monthly and has a freely accessible website. His contributions (in Dutch) mainly deal with the philosophical and sociological questions raised by contemporary science: How is science changing? What impact does this have on how we should understand science? A more particular focus is on contemporary life sciences, especially new fields such as synthetic biology.

In the podcast 'Geheugenissen', Julie Van Bogaert, Research Officer at the History Department of Ghent University, discusses historical topics for everyone who has an affinity for history. In this episode, Steven Vanden Broecke, History Professor at Ghent University and member of the Sarton Centre for History of Science, unravels the complex relations between science, astrology and faith, from the Middle Ages to our own post-truth era. The podcast is in Dutch. 

Geheugenissen · Het staat in de sterren geschreven