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eCrystals: a route for open access to small molecule crystal structure data

2006; Wiley; Volume: 62; Issue: a1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1107/s0108767306097613

1600-5724

Simon J. Coles, Michael B. Hursthouse, Jeremy G. Frey, A. Milsted, Lincoln D. Carr, Monica Duke, Tad H. Koch, Elizabeth Lyon,

Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

The general public perception of crystallography and chemistry as dull, old-fashioned and uninteresting is one of the most difficult problems that we have to deal with on a day-to-day basis.The CowParade [1] is the largest public art event in the world and was in Edinburgh, Scotland from 15th May -23rd July 2006.The idea behind CowParade is that artists are given a unusual canvas -one of 150 life-size 3-dimensional fibreglass cows -to decorate as they see fit, which is then displayed on the streets of Edinburgh.By sponsoring a cow to represent chemical research in Scotland we had a unique opportunity to showcase some of the best research being undertaken to a much more varied audience than we could ever hope to reach otherwise.The cow generated positive publicity and interest across Scotland and beyond, reaching an international audience.It is a very conservative estimate to say that the cows was seen by tens of thousands of people -the Chicago Visitor and Convention Bureau estimated that the CowParade attracted an additional 3 million visitors to the city when it was held there in 1999.By including a web address as part of the name of our cow, we were able to encourage people to find out in more detail about the chemistry represented by having an accompanying website.When visiting www.chem-moo-stry.orgthe public were given a chance to 'understand the science behind the cow'.This was the first time that the CowParade has been used to promote chemistry and the public understanding of science.By making a visually striking statement with our cow, we began to challenge the myth that science cannot be important and cutting edge as well as fun.