User:Mary Langsdale/sandbox

Wikimedia UK at Late at the Science Museum

This is an unusual and high-profile event, giving us the chance to interact with 5000 people, almost all of whom will use our projects quite a lot, but who have never thought of contributing. Some of the details are still being worked out, but the overall shape is now clear. It will be a fantastic opportunity to engage with the public, to encourage them to see Wikipedia and related projects not just as a resource to be consumed, but something that they too can help shape.

We need volunteers!

=Details=


 * Venue: The Science Museum, Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London SW7 2DD
 * Date: Wednesday 26 November 2014, 18:45 - 22:00 (although volunteers will be needed outside of these times)
 * Point of contact: Mary Langsdale through the talk page of this event, or Roberta Wedge at the WMUK office
 * Cost: Free
 * Sign up information: Sign up on this page or email roberta.wedge@wikimedia.org.uk
 * Twitter hashtag: #WikiLate



=About the event=

The Lates at the Science Museum are held on the last Wednesday of the month. Admission is free, although some events may require a ticket, and the evening is limited to adults only. In practice, most of the 5000 attendees are under 35, with an even split of men and women. The Late on the 26 November, for which Wikimedia UK is running a few events, is based around the museum's new gallery, The Information Age. These monthly events are a fun and unique way to spend an evening 'drinking and thinking'.

=Wikimedia's involvement=

Wikimedia UK will be hosting the following events at the Late:


 * Sharing the Information Age
 * Talk: Medical Information in the Digital Age
 * Listen to Wikipedia
 * Your Voice on Wikipedia!
 * Crowdsourcing Found Poetry
 * Wikipedia Survey

In addition, Wikimedia UK will be contributing to some of the Science Museum's regular events, such as the Pub Quiz and the Punk Science Game Show. And the Museum is interested in editing a page with a very large sheet of paper - an experiment which they will be stewarding.

Most of the events will require volunteers. Please sign up below the event description and come along if you can to our planning session on Wednesday 19 November at 6pm at Wikimedia UK (4th Floor of Development House, 56-64 Leonard St London EC2A 4LT).

Sharing the Information Age
Visitors will take photographs of objects in the new Information Age gallery and volunteers will show them how to upload these images onto Wikimedia Commons. This event will be ongoing throughout the night.

It is important that volunteers know how to upload images onto Wikimedia Commons and are willing to explain this skill to others.

Volunteers: (Please sign up here)

Talk: Medical Information in the Digital Age
This talk from Wikipedian Dr Jacob de Wolff (User:Jfdwolff) will focus on the role of free online resources in medicine, with particular consideration of the modern phenomenon of self-diagnosis. It will cover the importance of accurate information, and the function of projects such as WikiProject Medicine in achieving this. The talk will run three times throughout the night.

Stewarding for this event will be done by Science Museum staff.

Listen to Wikipedia
This event is a visual and auditory display in a quiet room, where every edit is a bell and every circle is a new edit. Visitors are invited to come and observe real-time contributions on a vast variety of topics by users all over the world. The visualisation can be viewed here. This event will be continuous throughout the night.

Stewarding will be largely done by the Science Museum staff but it would be nice to have to have at least one volunteer on hand to answer any questions guests may have!

Volunteers: (Please sign up here)

Your Voice on Wikipedia!
In line with the aims of WikiProject Spoken Wikipedia, WMUK are hosting this event to increase the number of recorded Wikipedia articles. Visitors will have the chance to read and record an article, or sections of an article. These will later be uploaded to improve resources for people with reading difficulties or visual impairments. The event will be continuous, and will operate one guest at a time.

On the night, volunteers will be required to assist visitors with the recording process. Expertise is not necessary, but anyone active on the WikiProject is especially welcome.

Lead Volunteer: TBC

Extra Volunteers: (Please sign up here)

Crowdsourcing Found Poetry
Participants will write their own poetry using excerpts from quirky Wikipedia articles we've chosen beforehand (suggest some below!). They will be encouraged in this by a WMUK volunteer (we have someone in mind - awaiting confirmation). Then their assembled poems will be read out by an actor (provided by the Science Museum). The event will be continuous throughout the night, with poetry readings every half hour.

On the night, volunteers will be required to supervise the event and assist guests.

Lead Volunteer: TBC

Extra Volunteers: (Please sign up here)

Suggested articles:
 * Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo
 * Toilet Paper Orientation.

Wikipedia Survey
We will be running a short survey over the night, using tablets loaded with around five questions (e.g. "Have you ever edited Wikipedia?"). We will need volunteers to conduct the survey, by going around and asking questions to guests in the queues. Each person who answers gets a sticker, so we don't bother them again.

No previous knowledge of wiki editing is assumed, although it is important that volunteers for this feel confident asking questions to the guests.

Volunteers: (Please sign up here)

=Preparation and questions=

If you have any questions please ask them on this talk page or email Roberta Wedge on roberta.wedge@wikimedia.org.uk.

Planning session
We will be holding a planning and information session for volunteers one week prior to the event on Wednesday 19 November at 6pm at Wikimedia UK's office (4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT), it would be great to see as many of you there as possible, whether in person or remotely.

Site visit
For some research (and a bit of fun!), WMUK staff and volunteers (and possibly board members) will be attending the this month's Late on Wednesday 29 October, 18:45 - 22:00. The theme is food and drink and everyone is welcome. If you are interested in attending with WMUK, sign up below or just come on the night and meet us in the lobby of Development House (56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT). We will leave at 6pm to take the Tube to South Kensington. You are welcome to meet us at the museum if you prefer. Feel free to invite friends to come along!

Attending: (Please sign up here)

Further information
More information about the night, including a detailed programme, will be posted closer to the date. This wiki is live and will change. In the meantime, you can learn more about the Lates at the Science Museum here.

=Notes=