Flying kites and balloons for aerial photography engages people in ways often not considered, as the Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science (PublicLab.org) demonstrates. As an ideal, Publicly Initiated Scientific Research (PIScR) is a way we engage in research creating new ways of knowing and understanding, of exploring and doing, of tapping into our potential and of giving rise to unheard voices. As Gertz and Justo argue in their book "Env. monitoring with Arduino": understanding brings knowledge and with knowledge comes the power to make decisions that can change our lives for the better - from holding polluters accountable, campaigning to lower electricity and gas bills, to getting to know ourselves again for the first time! Our role is to untap the potential of people to address issues that are important to them; to acknowledge and push for a belief in people - in their abilities, their skills, their passions, their knowledges; which at the moment is highly undervalued and underestimated. Play is a key component in our work at Citizens Without Borders: engaging with individuals and groups through play it is not only the way we learn but it also builds memories and experiences harnessed in enjoyment for doing something close at heart; it makes us feel a part of something greater. When engaging with DIY technologies and engaging in DIY research there is a very powerful element at work - there is genuine joy when learning that you are able to do, sense, or create something you did not think you could, especially, when you have made the invisible visible with your own hands. Playfulness embodies a sense of "involvement and detachment, self-expression and self-transcendence, individuality and cooperation" (Gwen Gordon, 2013). Boundaries become fluid, defences dissolve and give way to spontaneity. I believe that it is in this context and with this attitude that exploration and experimentation for discovery in publicly initiated scientific research can be kindled. It is important to continue giving impetus to this by creating playspaces because many people are already taking initiative in solving their own problems, they are ingenious and resourceful, imaginative and creative - and they know the power that knowledge can bring.

1. the playspace of
publicly initiated scientific research
@UCL_ExCiteS | @CwB_london

2. …an initiative within Citizens without Borders
and Extreme Citizen Science

3. Symptoms
of State &
culture
Status of
Science
Cognitive /
technical
mastery
(Self-)trust

4. stature of science

5. symptoms of society

6. self-trust

7. Touch|Play|Learn
DIY for community engagement

9. squishy circuits

10. Heliumfilled
weather
balloon
Balloon Mapping
camer
a
from DIY to DIT (doing it
together)

11. Explorer
of the World
playshops
DIY: doing it- discovering it- designing it- yourself

15. Exploring
borders
through art
a new grammar of artistic expression

19. a new grammar of expression

20. PLAY
TRUST
UNDERSTANDING
…let’s FACILITATE
…let’s ACKNOWLEDGE
…let’s VALUE

21. DIY manifesto
• DIY = empowerment & sense of ownership
• DIY = independence
• DIY = creativity
• DIY = understanding of things and taking
charge
• DIY = the right to choose
• DIY transforms consumers into contributors
• DIY is saves you money!

22. …in Extreme Citizen Science
we commit principles of
“…it is a kind of
participation and
science that questions
inclusion, openness and
the state of things”
acknowledgement, collaboration
and creativity
we encourage a science that reduces
barriers, increases democratic
participation, recognises the importance of
each participant and allows all voices to be
heard
Extreme Citizen Science is science by citizens, where
anyone, regardless of their background, can take
ownership over and investigate issues that are of concern
to them to bring about meaningful change cindy.regalado.11@ucl.ac.uk
contact:
website: www.ucl.ac.uk/excites