French National Science Festival: "Eureka!" – a comic strip to learn about science

The January 15 issue of the newsletter featured an article about Alexandra Maure, a PhD student in microbiology in the Integrated Mycobacterial Pathogenomics Unit at the Institut Pasteur, who is taking part in the 2021 edition of "Sciences en bulles" ("Science in speech bubbles"), in connection with the French National Science Festival, by adapting her thesis into a cartoon strip – an original, accessible and fun format designed to make scientific research more approachable and understandable. After several months of work, collaboration and valuable discussions between the ten selected scientists – including Alexandra – and the project designers, it's now official: "Eureka!", the cartoon strip that pares the scientists' theses down into cartoon form, is finished and ready to be released!

Produced for the 2021 edition and entitled "Eureka!," this third volume in the "Sciences en bulles" collection features ten research topics from a wide range of scientific disciplines, each presented as a cartoon strip, with the aim of highlighting the joy of discovery. To kindle the curiosity of the general public, the famous cartoon album duo Peb & Fox were chosen to come up with a scenario and images for the students' ten thesis topics. The pair worked hand in hand with each selected scientist over a series of stages to reach the final result.

Here is an example of three panels showing each stage in the creative process – in this case involving Alexandra and featuring her research:

• Panel 1: the very first version of the panels, which served as a basis for discussions between illustrator Peb and Alexandra, especially on what angle to give the cartoon and what needed to be changed to make it scientifically accurate but easy to understand for the general public.

• Panel 2: a later version of the original illustration by illustrator Fox, with additional "pencil strokes" added by computer to help bring it to life.

• Panel 3: the final stage, adding color.

Each image was the result of a meticulous and rewarding team effort, as Alexandra describes: "it was a wonderful experience that required a lot of work, despite the fact that it might look like "just" three comic strip panels."
 
The free book, with a print run of 75,000 copies, is aimed at all ages, especially families and young people. It will be distributed at events in the French Science Festival, handed out free of charge by the 350 partner booksellers in the "Science for All" group and made available to take out on loan in:
 
• 16,000 libraries, media libraries and reading corners, which will receive the book thanks to the support of the French Ministry of Culture;

• 11,000 documentation and information centers at middle and high schools;

• 100 university libraries.
 
An enhanced digital version of the book will be made available online on the Science Festival website on October 1, 2021.
 
Find out more about the project and the 30th anniversary of the Science Festival:
 

Read the press kit