Knight Center students tackle science communication with data, humor, puppets and song

MSU’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism ran a science communication class during fall 2022 for 17 students from diverse science and communication fields.

 The class produced compelling stories from dry studies, created narratives to accompany animated datasets, produced a shadow puppet show about invasive species, planned a museum exhibit of the future, created science TikToks and used humor to explain science.

One produced and performed a song with the rest of the class backing him. Another produced this video of what the rest of the class did.

The Fifth Modern Wonder of Peru  

The Knight Center for Environmental Journalism recently taught an online environmental journalism to a group of university students in Peru. This is one of the stories produced during that effort. The program was funded by the U.S. Embassy in Lima.

By Alvaro Benavente 

Six hours from Lima, three buses and four hours of walking — depending on your physical performance – is the fifth modern wonder of Peru, Marcahuasi.  

Located near the town of San Pedro de Casta in the province of Huarochirí, Lima, it is one of the highest plateaus in the world (4,100 meters above sea level), with 4 square kilometers of rock formations, spectacular abysses, lagoons, flora, fauna and a sky in which you can see the Milky Way.  

Without a doubt, it’s quite a visual show known among the hikers of Peru.  Continue reading

The serious situation in the pharmacies of Minsa 

The Knight Center for Environmental Journalism recently taught an online environmental journalism to a group of university students in Peru. This is one of the stories produced during that effort. The program was funded by the U.S. Embassy in Lima.

By Sebastián Ramírez 

Alarming shortage of products revealed in public hospital 

Is there anyone who has never been sick? 

Some of us have had a fever at least once in our lives and we had to buy products to help us cope with our illness. 

However, that is not the situation for all Peruvians who need to use products from public hospital pharmacies.  Continue reading

Plastic bags: Ally or enemy?  

The Knight Center for Environmental Journalism recently taught an online environmental journalism to a group of university students in Peru. This is one of the stories produced during that effort. The program was funded by the U.S. Embassy in Lima.

By Luz Cachay Torres  

Brunswick is a city on the coastline of Georgia in the United States, and when I first arrived there, I couldn’t stop being shocked by the amount of plastic bags that they use.  

At first, I took my own bag whenever I went shopping, but as the days went by, I started to forget it. 

Seeing all the people grabbing them didn’t look so bad. I got to collect more bags in one week than I used to in an entire month back at home in Peru. 

This situation kept me thinking: Are plastic bags really that bad?  Continue reading