So, in conclusion, in terms of the advice
I could give to young scholars who are considering embarking
on a citizen science project, I would really urge them to give it a try.
Engaging citizens as part of a scientific initiative is really rewarding
and it sort of brings you out of your comfort zone
and into avenues of work and challenges
that you've not thought of before.
In terms of the project I was part of,
you know, all the the funding issues,
all the legal aspects,
safety of the exhibition
we had to put in place, you know, fire safety event, etc.,
that we had to deal with, it sort of provided me and the other
researchers with a lot of very useful training for the rest of our lives
and made us more savvy in areas we had, you know, barely any clue about.
That's a rewarding thing for the researchers themselves.
Citizen science
more broadly to me is critical so that you, especially
in the social sciences and humanities, so that we keep what we say grounded
in the challenges, the economic, political,
cultural challenges that people actually face today.
So, as a historian, when we research history,
we want to shed light on the past
also based on
what we have in mind as researchers, but also on
what people are facing and confronting today.
So, citizen science project really helps you in that respect
by grounding what you do in those interests.
More specifically, public history is growing fast.
So, if you are a historian, the interest in history
in all its forms has never been greater.
I'm thinking books, magazines, but also
films, video games, cosplay reenactments, you name it.
So, there is a space out there, and I think it's
very important that scientists and properly trained historians
jump into
that space because otherwise it's, you know, other people
who are not historians, who provide those narratives
with all the risks that we are aware of in terms of distortions and biases.
So, that's another component to put yourself
out there and reach out to more people than just,
you know, strictly academic community of yours.
And a final piece of advice for young scholars
keen on launching similar efforts
would be to go look at what has been done before by others.
So now, you know, with an online search, you can find projects
that that are similar to yours.
And as far as we are concerned, for our temporary exhibition project
and our upcoming museum project,
we really looked at all
the initiatives around the world that were based on a sort of similar
approach.
And in particular, we really got
in contact and then close to the people
who are running the Lower East Side Tenement Museum in New York.
So that's a major institution, I recommend you go and visit
this next time you ever go to New York City.
It's in the heart of Manhattan, and it works in a similar fashion as our concept.
And the people who run that big, important museum,
you know, running on a $12 million budget, they provided us with innumerable
pieces of advice and we exchange many, many emails with them.
They came over, they invited us to visit and talk with the curators
out there in New York.
And so, that was one partnership we really relied upon
when we built our own innovative initiative near Paris.
So, you will find out there people who have done similar things,
maybe
slightly different than what you have in mind,
but they will be very happy to provide you with advice on what worked, what didn't.
So, don't hesitate to reach out, send an email
and ask them for guidance
to help you with your particular project.