LECTURES SERIES THAT SPEAK TO THE PUBLIC

Public lectures have a long history in the sciences. Hosted by museums and universities, they typically are hour-long talks presented by guest lecturers about a specialized subject related to their research. A typical lecture “series” covers different topics delivered by different presenters. These lectures can be expensive, difficult to arrange, and too narrowly focused to attract a wide audience.

The Weis Earth Science Museum is ever on the search for cost-effective adult programming, and the concept of a lecture series piqued our interest. Based on informal conversations with the public, we learned that people were interested in lecture series that gave them basic knowledge and a broader understanding of a topic, rather than isolated topics of varying interest to them. Such a series also allowed the opportunity to work with geology faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley in order to add expertise as well as to open the lectures to geology students, who were able to learn about interesting topics outside the classroom and were encouraged to interact with community members.

We searched for a topic that garnered broad public interest, provided useful information, had an historical component, could be well illustrated, and could fill the time available in a lecture series. The result: The History and Mystery of Gemstones, a four-part weekly lecture series. The lectures were well received, well attended, and generated revenue and rapport. The series even attracted interest from venues in other locations and we “took it on the road.” This concept is not new; early geologists, such as Charles Lyell and Alexander von Humboldt, earned extra income and enhanced reputations by giving popular public lecture series in the nineteenth century.

We gathered information useful to any organization wishing to establish a popular lecture series: 1) Decide who your audience is; 2) Determine topics that your intended audience is interested in; 3) Choose the time/day of the week/season wisely; 4) Market, market, market; 5) Use “internal” talent and save money; 6) Look for the “hook;” 7) Spend time on organization and preparing PowerPoint presentations; 8) Engender curiosity with hands-on; 9) Create community through interaction; 10) Make audience comprehension the goal; and 11) Make it fun.