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http://images.google.com/images?q=scientist&hl=en&btnG=Search+Images

I don't know how they weight images, so I'm not sure if the first  
images are the most popular as far as linking or what.  But, here it  
is 193,000 images of a scientist.  The top ones are pretty diverse,  
from women to white guys to cartoons to einstein to "one of Reggae's  
most famous engineers."

Eric Siegel
New York Hall of Science
[log in to unmask]
(718) 699-0005 x 317



On Jul 16, 2006, at 4:45 PM, [log in to unmask] wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology  
> Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related  
> institutions.
> ********************************************************************** 
> *******
>
> The excercise of having someone draw a scientist is interesting but  
> I question
> whether asking for a single drawing is representative of what the  
> drawer
> actually believes scientists to be.
> Now even though I am a female neuroscientist whose lab doesn't even  
> have
> test tubes if asked to draw a scientist I would probably draw a  
> male in
> a lab coat holding a test tube (that is if I had any drawing  
> ability at
> all since in reality I would probably only manage a stick figure).  I
> would draw this not because I think all scientists look like this but
> because I think this is the image most able to convey scientist to  
> other
> people.  What I would be very curious to see is what would happen  
> if you
> asked people to draw 5 different pictures of a scientist.  This way
> people take up one drawing on the traditional test tube picture and  
> then
> there would be 4 other pictures to see if people have any concept  
> of the
> diversity that does exist within science.  Has something like this  
> ever
> been tried?
>
> --Kristy
>
> ********************************************************
> Kristy Sundberg
> Graduate Student- UCSD Dept of Neuroscience
> John Reynolds Lab- The Salk Institute
> ********************************************************
>
>
> On Thu Jul 13 12:04 , 'Richard O. Brown'  
> <[log in to unmask]> sent:
>
>> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology  
>> Centers
>> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related  
>> institutions.
>> ********************************************************************* 
>> ********
>>
>> Re: depicting science:
>>
>> If you haven't done this exercise before, you might enjoy trying this
>> activity before reading on:
>> http://www.the-aps.org/education/2006rts/pdf/ 
>> Draw_a_Scientist_handout.pdf
>> (Or simply imagine and draw a picture of a scientist doing science.)
>>
>>
>> This is the classic "Draw-A-Scientist-Test" (DAST), originally  
>> developed by
>> anthropologists Margaret Mead and Rhoda Metraux in 1957.  It's  
>> been widely
>> used since then to track public perceptions of scientists over  
>> time, and
>> across different ages, ethnicities and nationalities.  The consistent
>> finding is that people asked to "Draw a picture of a scientist doing
>> science" typically produce stereotyped drawings of a socially  
>> awkward,
>> bearded old white man in a lab coat, with accessories such as  
>> beakers and
>> equation-covered chalkboards.  (Picture the scientists in Gary  
>> Larson's Far
>> Side.)   But it's a matter of debate how much that stereotype really
>> affects public perception of science, or the likelihood of  
>> choosing science
>> as a career.
>>
>> I'd be interested to hear if anyone has used the DAST as an  
>> activity in a
>> science center.
>>
>> The test linked above comes from the website of the American  
>> Physiological
>> Society, which also offers this scoresheet:
>> http://www.the-aps.org/education/2006rts/pdf/DASTRatingRubric.pdf
>>
>> There was an interesting discussion of DAST and other measures of  
>> public
>> perception of scientists in the NSF's Science and Engineering  
>> Indicators
>> 2002
>> (http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind02/c7/c7s3.htm>http:// 
>> www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind02/c7/c7s3.htm).
>>
>> Oddly and peculiarly yours,
>> Richard
>>
>> ***********************************************************
>> Richard O. Brown, PhD
>> Staff Neuroscientist / Exhibit and Project Developer
>> The Exploratorium
>> 3601 Lyon Street
>> San Francisco, CA 94123-1099
>>
>> (415) 353-0483
>> ***********************************************************
>>
>>
>> At 04:24 PM 7/12/2006, you wrote:
>>
>>> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology  
>>> Centers
>>> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related  
>>> institutions.
>>> ******************************************************************** 
>>> *********
>>>
>>> It turns out (surprise!) we're not the only ones grappling with  
>>> how to
>>> depict science. This blog entry and its replies offer some  
>>> scientists'
>>> opinions on the issue. Here's a hint: enough with the photos of  
>>> colored
>>> liquids in Erlenmeyer flasks.
>>>
>>> http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/2006/07/07/ 
>>> memo_to_the_public_relat
>>> ions_department.php
>>>
>>>
>>> Katherine Ziff
>>> Exhibit Developer
>>> Great Lakes Science Center
>>> (216) 696-4058
>>
>> ********************************************************************* 
>> **
>> More information about the Informal Science Education Network and the
>> Association of Science-Technology Centers may be found at http:// 
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