2016

SPONSOR KIT Support local science outreach through Colorado’s most innovative series.

SCIENCE//COMEDY//OUTREACH//ENTERTAINMENT THE PEER REVUE SCIENCE RIOT, INC Is an outreach program that develops STEM professionals Is an educational 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization into engaging speakers through stand-up comedy. promoting public enthusiasm for science. ABOUT

Produced By Kyle Sanders & Dr. Niki Spahich

Contacts: [email protected] PEER REVUE [email protected] @PeerRevue fb.com/PeerRevue Dear Reader, www.peer-revue.com The Peer Revue is a science outreach initiative dedicated to increasing About The Peer Revue: public awareness and appreciation of science through entertainment and The Peer Review was inspired by a similar comedy. STEM professionals from all backgrounds are invited to a workshop series in the UK known as Bright Club series that teaches them the impossible - how to be funny on purpose! which takes place at 18+ universities and

is billed as a “thinking person’s comedy night”. Our syllabus was developed with During this crash-course in comedy, eight scientists learn the basics of help from the University College London stand-up comedy writing and performance and develop a short routine about and professional comedians to adapt their favorite scientific topic that they will then perform live in front of a paying this unique outreach for an American audience. The result is a brainy and entertaining event that fosters a young audience. and diverse community of science enthusiasts.

About Science Riot: This initiative began in November of 2015, and was an immediate Science Riot is 501(c)(3) educational success in both Colorado Springs and Denver. The August program at Denver nonprofit corporation that produces Museum for Nature and Science will be our fifth workshop series, graduating and consults on informal science outreach events. Our goal is to create a 33 science professionals to the comedy stage. This will be our seventh Peer public that is enthusiastic about science Revue event, in addition to the many other events that our graduates have through innovative programming, performed at including Denver’s Nerd Nite and Denver Comic Con. Our comedy, outreach, and entertainment. shows gather 250+ attendees, often selling out in advance, with the additional In the past year (June 2015-June potential for thousands of viewers of our upcoming webseries - filmed and 2016) our staff has organized, hosted, edited by professional videographers whose previous work has been featured moderated, and presented at twenty five at Cannes Film Festival. science outreach events in Colorado - reaching a combined audience of 2,700 We would like to ask that you consider becoming one of our Corporate science enthusiasts. All donations are tax-deductible. Sponsors. As a sponsor, you will reach directly into a public audience that is heavily invested in supporting STEM fields. You will also benefit from our positive media attention as a result of your association with the first outreach event of its kind in the US.

We have included a range of sponsorship options for your consideration, but will work with you directly on an agreement catered to the outreach goals of your organization. We look forwards to hearing from you, and thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

The Peer Revue Team

You can find us in: Denver & Colorado Springs

And online at peer-revue.com.

THE PEER REVUE Denver, 2016 science

DR. NIKI SPAHICH, MICROBIOLOGIST as pop & CO-PRODUCER OF THE PEER REVUE culture WHY YOU SHOULD EMBRACE INFORMAL SCIENCE OUTREACH

their research with a lay audience WE MUST ALL PLEDGE and 73% report having no training OURSELVES TO RECOVERING in public speaking2. To sum it up, ACCESSIBLE“ SCIENCE AS AN most of them are terrified of public HONORABLE INTELLECTUAL speaking and they will conduct these 1 kinds of studies to prove just how TRADITION. terrifying it is. But informal outreach programs n 2014, the same year that work, because the public dialogues mankind achieved the scientific they create have been shown “ as an effective way to change feat of landing a satellite on a I attitudes about science. Audiences passing comet, 75% of Americans agreed that the Earth revolves understanding of the given topic around the sun. Only 50% believe shows significant increases Our goal isn’t just to put on a great 4 that humans evolved. Then there afterwards . Even when talking about outreach program for our audience, are the 32% of Americans who think a controversial topic like genetic but to develop engaging and engineering, nonscientists gained astrology is a real science, a group confident science communicators. which might have a lot in common an appreciation and empathy for 5 with and the 32% that said it’s “not scientists, and the reverse was true . important to know about science in Studies with undergrads showed their daily life”2. an increased confidence and Science popularization matters. aptitude for science communication 4 Engaging science programming, after participating . And one of the passionate lecturers, entertaining greatest predictors of engagement teachers - these are what drive the in science outreach by scientists is 3 public back towards science. past participation . Nearly half of well-intentioned scientists report that communicating SOURCES: IT HAS BEEN RELATIVELY [1] Carl Sagan, A Demon Haunted World. their research to the public is a [2] The Royal Society. 2006. Science duty, but they have a lot of excuses EASY TO MAKE THE FIRST PART OF communication: Survey of factors affecting for not participating themselves THE ARGUMENT THAT MONOLOGUES science communication by scientists and “ engineers. and many shared an apprehension SHOULD BECOME CONVERSATIONS. IT [3] Besley, J., Hwa Oh, S., Nisbet, M. 2013. Pre- about fielding questions from the lay HAS BEEN HARDER TO CONVINCE THE dicting scientist’ participation in public life. Public public3. Understanding of Science; INSTITUTIONS OF SCIENCE THAT THE [4] Ahmed, DeFino, Connors, Kissack, & Franco. Only 21% of scientists report PUBLIC ARE NOT THE PROBLEM.6 2014. Science Cafes: Engaging Scientists and participating in outreach, and Community though Health and Science Dialogue. Clinical and Translational Science, 7(3). another 29% worry that those [5] Zorn, Roper, Weaver & Rigby. 2012. Influence scientists are perceived by the This is why we have developed in science dialogue: Individual attitude changes public as uniformly inept at the PEER REVUE, a program which as a result of dialogue between laypersons and “ scientists. Public Understanding of Science, 21(7). incorporates comedy writing and communication. 50% of scientists [6] Stilgoe, Lock, & Wilson. 2014. Why should we describe themselves as “not well performance workshops, developed promote public engagement with science? Public equipped”, or worse, to discuss with help from professional Understanding of Science 23 (1). comedians.

THE PEER REVUE Denver, 2016 but why

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO AN ACADEMIC CONFERENCE comedy? AND FALLEN ASLEEP DURING THE KEYNOTE? US TOO.

here is a persistent myth among presentation2 and persuasion3 scientists that entertainment and can be used to break the ice, SOURCES: Tvalue comes at the cost of good build rapport, reduce formality, [1] Goodwin, Jean & Michael Dahlstrom. 2014. science content. But the research and demonstrate individualism, give Communication strategies for earning trust in climate change debates. WIREs Clim Change 5. all of our experiences have proven contemporary relevance, provide [2] Reershemius, Gertrud. 2012. Research that engaging an audience is not a critique, and also make content more cultures and the pragmatic functions of humor zero-sum game. With training, it is memorable4. in academic research presentations: A corpus- assisted analysis. Journal of Pragmatics 44. possible to be both funny and factual. Once a scientists learns to have fun [3] Xu, Zhen. 2016. Laughing Matter: Humor The use of humor in presentations with an audience, it’ll forever change Strategies in Public Speaking. Asian Social Science 12(1). is recommended by social scientists how they communicate professionally [4] Lee, David. 2006. Humor in Spoken Academic 1 to “enhance the likeability” of and publically. Discourse. Journal of Language, Culture and scientists; it promotes trust, improves Communication 8(3).

THE PEER REVUE Denver, 2016 DONATE SUGGESTED LEVELS: $25-100 1. SPONSOR IMAGE AND LINK ON PEER-REVUE.COM. 2. DISPLAY TABLE IN LOBBY DURING THE PRE-SHOW, INTERMISSION, AND POST-SHOW CONCESSIONS. 3. A ROTATING ADVERTISEMENT ON THE BIG-SCREEN. $100-250 1-3 ABOVE, WITH ADDITIONAL: 4. MENTION ON OUR FACEBOOK EVENT POSTINGS AND OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA, WITH A REACH OF OVER 10K. 5. A MENTION IN THE EVENT EMAIL BLAST. $300+ COVERS EXPENSES FOR ALL PRINTED MATERIALS SUCH AS INSTRUCTIONAL BOOKS FOR PARTICIPANTS. INCLUDES 1-5 ABOVE AND: 6. COMPLIMENTARY TICKETS OF A LIMITED AMOUNT FOR THE EVENT. 7. PLACEMENT OF BUSINESS CARDS, FLYERS, OR PAMPHLETS IN THE PROGRAM. 8. MENTION FROM THE STAGE DURING INTRODUCTION. $450+ COVERS EXPENSES FOR PROFESSIONAL COMEDIANS TO ATTEND WORKSHOPS AND PERFORM AS HEADLINER. INCLUDES 1-8 ABOVE. $1000+ COVERS EXPENSES FOR PROFESSIONAL VIDEOGRAPHY AND SPONSOR CREDIT IN LIMITED EPISODES OF UPCOMING WEBSERIES. INCLUDES 1-8 ABOVE.

THE PEER REVUE Denver, 2016 coming soon

FRIDAY, AUG 26th AN INDEPENDENT EVENT TAKING PLACE AT THE:

THE PEER REVUE Denver, 2016 January 6, 2016 www.PikesPeakNewspapers.com Pikes Peak Courier 15 Scientists try standup to stimulate

Anthony Maltese of the Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center will be featured in a standup comedy event on Jan. 7.//Courtesy photo By Avalon A. Manly The event is subtitled “Standup comedy [email protected] on the shoulders of giants,” and that holds true with the fi rst set of scientists to take Anthony Maltese, a paleontologist from the stage. the Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource The night will headline physician Center, is at home digging up bones and Brad Neider and feature Ironzey Lewis, swapping stories about exciting discoveries an air traffi c controller; Kyle Sanders, an with other scientists. instructor pilot; Lisa Hines, an epidemiolo- Now, he’s hoping that by learning to tell gist; Niki Spahich, a microbiologist; Tom jokes to strangers on the unforgiving stage Wolkow, a cell biologist; and Maltese. Other of a standup comedy show, he’ll be more area scientists will participate in later Peer able to excite visitors to the center about Revue sessions; interested parties can even the dinosaurs on display and the impor- apply on their website. tant work of the scientists there. The scientists-turned-standup comics Most of all, he and other scientists underwent three workshops with profes- participating in a new Peer Revue comedy sional comedy coaches, rehearsing and program hope that by learning to grab and reworking their fi ve minutes of material. entertain an audience, they’ll do a better For somebody not used to public job getting the public interested in their speaking – and especially the kind of more academic pursuits in science. public speaking Peer Revue calls for – the Peer Revue is where science meets workshop process can be harrowing. comedy, taking researchers from a vari- “It’s pretty bad,” Maltese said of the ety of fi elds and shoving them into the last workshop. “I only had a few lines to spotlight for fi ve minutes of telling jokes to cut, but I learned that if you don't have it strangers. committed to deep memory, you're going Peer Revue is based on a program from to fl ub. Too many things bouncing in your England called Bright Club, and it’s been head up there.” successful in more than 18 cities so far. Maltese has years of stories collected At 7 p.m. on Jan. 7, Maltese and a about paleontological digs and lab work, handful of other scientists will make their but transforming those into a solid fi ve Peer Revue debuts on the stage at the Loft minutes of humor can be rough, he said. Music Venue at 2506 W. Colorado Ave., in Which is what makes the Peer Revue Colorado Springs, to begin the experiment experiment so useful. In an age where in learning to communicate. (Tickets are funding is tied to public likeability and $10 in advance via TicketLeap and $12 at notoriety, being able to communicate and the door. Check their Facebook for more make people laugh are becoming funda- details.) mental scientifi c skills. The event’s organizers hope Peer Revue Peer Revue’s website explains that if will help area scientists and professionals you’ve ever “binged on TED Talks at 2 improve their communication skills while a.m.,” or enjoyed local events like Science simultaneously raising awareness of and on Tap or Talk Nerdy to Me, this night of interest in their work. comedy-science is for you.

Single Event

Sponsorship Agreement

Date: ______

Between

______st Sponsor [1 Party]

AND

______The Peer Revue Event Series [2nd Party] Produced by Science Riot, Inc.

TERMS OF AGREEMENT:

1. The Peer Revue makes the agreement to give contribution to the sponsor the following sponsorship rights: ___ Sponsor image and link on Peer-Revue.com and venue webpages. ___ Display table in lobby during the pre-show, intermission, and post-show concessions. ___ A separate “slide” on the Power point presentation to be shown on the big screen for all attendees to see before the event, during intermission and after the event. ___ Mention on regular Facebook event postings and other social media. ___ A mention in the email blast for the specific sponsored event. ___ Complimentary tickets of a limited amount for the sponsored event. Number: ______Placement of business cards, flyers, or pamphlets in the program. ___ Mention from the stage during introduction of sponsored event. ___ Special mention for supplying instructional books for each our scientists’ preparation. ___ Special mention for as sponsor of the professional headlining comedian. ___ Other: ______

2. It is decided that at the time of renegotiation, the Peer Revue will automatically request the sponsor to renegotiate the agreement. 3. This agreement will be valid for the all dates inclusive up to the event on ______. 4. The sponsor makes agreement to provide funding in the amount of ______or nonmonetary support by means of ______. 5. In case any point of a disagreement arising that the parties find difficult to resolve by themselves, the parties will make agreement to refer the matter to an independent arbitrator appointed by mutual agreement. 6. Where one party is not capable to perform its obligations under this agreement due to state of affairs beyond its control or which becomes hard to be prevented, those obligations are suspended whilst those situations continue, provided the other party is informed and the first party uses its best actions to defeat the circumstances avoiding its responsibilities from being carried out. 7. Each party shall underwrite the other against any claims arising from any violation of the agreement by either party. 8. The terms and conditions of this agreement shall not be divulged to any third parties without the prior written approval of both parties. 9. The rights of either party under this agreement shall not be transferable or exchangeable either in whole or in part.

Signed :

______Sponsor Representative Peer Revue Representative

______Title Title

______Date Date