About
Ada's Adventures in Science
£7,530
163
Comic Books are an engaging and graphical way to introduce science topics to a diverse audience. As comic book geeks and as a scientist and artist partnership, we created 3 comic books, starting with “There’s no such thing as a stupid question”. We wanted not only to excite kids about science but to empower them to do science. We thought a believable, relatable character having exciting adventures was the way to do it.
The comic book series features Ada, a girl who isn’t afraid to ask questions about the world around her. Ada dreams of doing exciting science and making discoveries like her science heroes, while riding the school bus and playing with her friends. Finally Ada achieves her dream of becoming a professional scientist and taking part in a big discovery, through the course of the 3 comic books.
Inclusivity
As well as exciting kids about science, another major goal of the comic books are to empower them. We believe that anyone can do science; it doesn’t matter where you are from, who you are, what your gender, ethnicity, or background is; if you can ask questions, you can do science.
Our Goal
If funded, we will professionally print 20,000 copies of a compilation comic book, with new artwork, of the 3 existing Ada comic books, “There’s no such thing as a stupid question”, “Robotic Telescopes: how to find cool stuff in space”, and “Discoveries only happen by working together” - Ada’s Adventures in Science - and send them to children around the world.
We will also create an educational activity which will be sent with each pack of comic books. The activity will mirror the idea of Ada’s Adventures in Science, being a combination of science and art, with creativity at its heart.
With every pledge to send packs of comic books to school, we'll also send you a copy as a "Thank You"!
Please note only the "Custom classroom pack" reward allows you to choose the school recipient.
Science education with comic books
As an educational tool, comic books provide an amazing opportunity for introducing complex concepts by linking images, words and sequence into an immediate scaffold to understanding.
Although the primary audience for these comic books is school students, they have a wide appeal to a general audience, including adults. Comic book art can be more dynamic and engaging than standard text and picture narratives, allowing us to draw a wide audience into the excitement of scientific discoveries.
We have given out over 1500 printed copies of the first Ada comic book, through teacher training events, school workshops, and public exhibitions in Wales, California, and the Netherlands.
Their popularity amongst kids and adults at these events has motivated us to seek crowdfunding to share Ada with a much wider audience and inspire kids around the world.
Open Source
Because we believe in inclusivity and equity these comic books are available with a creative commons license allowing anyone to freely use and distribute them. We want Ada’s Adventures in Science to inspire as many people as possible to think differently about the world around them.
Partners
To help us identify schools around the world to send Ada's Adventures in Science to we will be working with leaders in astronomy education and using astronomy for development: Las Cumbres Observatory, Universe in the Classroom, Universe Awareness, Astronomers Without Borders, and the International Astronomical Union’s Office of Astronomy for Development.
How will the money raised be spent?
The majority of the funds will be spent on printing and sending Ada's stories around the world.
...and of course, we will keep you fully updated about where your pledged books have been sent so you can see the impact the comic books you supported are having.
Support
Support for creating the art for these comic books initially came from the Welsh Government, Royal Astronomical Society and Las Cumbres Observatory.
If you help us reach beyond our pledge goal, we'll be able to add some extra features to this project:
£7000 - we will create e-reader versions of the comic and make them freely available to all backers via the Ada Comics website (ePub and Mobi format)
£8000 - We will create an iBook version of and make it available via the iBooks store.
Risks and challenges
Our experience in developing, producing, improving and delivering educational resources around the world means we are already prepared for many eventualities. Every project has challenges, but it is unlikely that there will be challenges we haven't come across already or won't be able to tackle. Much of the artwork has already been created in the form of 3 separate comic books, and are ready to start the creation of the new artwork as soon as the project is successfully funded.
Universe Awareness and the International Astronomical Union’s Office of Astronomy for Development are important partners in this project and their extensive global reach and experience will help us distribute the Ada’s Adventures in Science through their network of nodes and project leaders around the world.
We commit to keeping you informed of progress in the months following the campaign. Our promise to deliver is always going to be challenged by the complexities of production scheduling, shipping between continents, and more. Therefore, if unexpected issues occur in the delivery schedule, we will do our utmost to minimize the impact on our backers and devote ourselves to providing the best experience we can.
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Funding period
- (30 days)