Bytes : The soft soap

7 June 1997

The CSIRO has turned science into a soap opera. It has devised
a Web site to tell the story of the interactions between the researchers and
technical staff at a laboratory studying climate change. The story, called
CO₂LAB,
attracted more than 700 visitors in its first week. The site is
the brainchild of Simon Torok, a science communicator at CSIRO Land and
Water in Canberra. The story line is used to hook readers into real life
science. Every time a scientific fact or concept comes up, the reader can make a
“reality check” to read about the science involved. “The soapie is really a
Trojan horse to attract people not usually interested in science to find out
about current scientific issues,” says Torok. With a grant from the Science,
Engineering and Technology Awareness Program of the Department of Industry,
Science and Tourism, Torok has been able to use professional help to develop his
Web site. The address is http://soap.csiro.au

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