May 25, 2021

#QuiltYourScience for AGU 2021 and beyond

Posted by Laura Guertin

You may be familiar with the different science art series on AGU’s The Plainspoken Scientist blog –  #DrawnToGeoscience#RhymeYourResearch, and #AGURocks. And now, there is a new hashtag to add to the collection of creative ways to share science – welcome to #QuiltYourScience. and a call for quilters across all ages and skill levels to create earth/space science-themed mini quilts that we can celebrate during the 2021 AGU Fall Meeting.

A quilt hanging on a wall with a red heart in the middle

My mini quilt “I HeART Earth Science” with full description at: https://journeysofdrg.org/2021/01/28/iheart/

The story of the Quilt Your Science begins at the 2020 AGU Fall Meeting. The fully virtual conference offered the opportunity to connect with others through a Braindate by posting a topic of interest, selecting the day/time to connect, and then others could search the schedule/topics and click to attend. I’ve been a quilter for many years but started focusing my quilts on telling science stories in 2018. I was looking to see if there were any other scientists who quilt that were interested in a collaborative quilting project.

This is when I met Betsy Wilkening (Arizona Project WET), and we immediately began a rapid exchange of ideas and possible directions to go. With the help of Google Docs, a Google Site, and social media, we have officially launched Quilt Your Science 2021 (https://tinyurl.com/sciquilt21).

Starting now and through November 15, 2021, individuals or groups are encouraged to create a mini quilt (between 12 inches and 24 inches on each side) that captures your own work or your passion for earth and space science research, communication, and/or education. The fabric choices and design are entirely up to the quilter, as well as the science story they want to tell with their quilt. In December 2021, there will be a virtual reality exhibition of the mini quilts (see an example of how the display will be set up in Artsteps). Quilters do not have to be AGU members to participate.

We invite you to join our Slack community of Science Quilters for scientists to quilt, and for those who quilt about science. We will support each other in the creative process providing tips and sharing inspiration. When posting on Twitter or Instagram, be sure to use the hashtag #SciQuilt21 and #QuiltYourScience so we can see and celebrate your progress.

We are also planning to have a live celebration to allow in-person and virtual participants celebrate the display (pending health restrictions, the celebration will take place at the 2021 AGU Fall Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana and online). Please visit the Quilt Your Science 2021 website to learn more, to be inspired, and to start quilting!

Feel free to share the link to our website and download/share this PDF that contains the project details. Please email us if you have any questions: [email protected] or reach out to Laura Guertin at [email protected]