Where Researchers Meet the Public: A New Conception of Science Communication in Practice

The multidisciplinary research project " Opening science: new ways of knowledge transfer using the example of the research project BROMACKER" (2020–2025) aims to rethink science communication . The focus is on the development of dialog-based approaches to communicate scientific work related to the unique Bromacker fossil site in Thuringia, Germany. In the past years, over 30 diverse outreach formats — digital, analogue, creative, and research-oriented — have been developed and implemented to engage a broad public. Opening up the excavation site to the general public and providing an insight into the everyday work of the researchers during the excavation was the annual highlight of the communication measures. Evaluation results confirm the project's success: 95% of visitors would recommend the experience, and direct interaction with researchers was seen as very valuable. Project members also reported enhanced communication skills, great appreciation from the visitors and a deeper awareness of the societal relevance of their research. This project demonstrates how science communication can succeed when structurally integrated, politically supported, and creatively implemented. It offers a transferable model for geoscientific and interdisciplinary research communication efforts. The results underline the importance of sustainable strategies, target group-specific formats and a culture of openness - locally embedded, but with a national impact.