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5 questions for Per Thorén
Jul 16 2007 Latest NewsPer Thorén, Project Manager for MoleClues, gives his views on the upcoming Web site for young people.
Can you give us an update on the ongoing construction of MoleClues?
We are making good progress. This spring, we have worked on creating a cool and unique concept for the Web site. In about one month (August 15), we will open www.moleclues.com to the public and give people a glimpse of what this Web site may offer. Making original scientific content takes a lot of time, however, so many of the features will appear in later versions of the Web site. I have chosen to call this first release of the Web site “MoleClues 1.0” to further stress that there is plenty more to come.
How would you like the MoleClues user to experience this new Web site?
The aim of the youth initiative of Molecular Frontiers has always been to inspire curiosity and to trigger young people to explore and ask questions. I want the user to experience what we scientists experience almost every day – the feeling that you are on a mission to solve a mystery that does not have a given answer. The process of seeking the solution is the true joy of it all. In that sense, the Web site will be much more like an adventure game than a school site.
In what directions do you plan the Web site to grow? What features
do you plan to add?
The first version of MoleClues will focus on the Molecular Frontiers Inquiry Prize and let people start asking questions. Later this year, a major update to the Web site will take place; giving you the opportunity to step into a virtual world and explore cool things related to molecular science. The virtual world will be based on various interesting themes, like for example “The Chemistry of Love”. We will also link to other Web sites that we think are fun and interesting and let our users rank them. You will also be able to suggest new links for this feature. The online community that we are setting up will also be updated with new features now and then – we want young people to interact both with other teenagers and with senior scientists! We also invite our users to come up with more ideas for how to expand the Web site in the future.
Have you had any input from teenagers of today during the design?
We arranged an activity at the Gothenburg Science Festival earlier this year, and let teenagers aged 13-15 have their say. We are working with a very talented designer and I believe we have found a concept that will appeal to many young people. Within this concept, there is plenty of room for variation which I hope will inspire more designers to contribute.
The teenage years span a wide range of knowledge. Do you think both
users who already have knowledge of chemistry and those who have none
will find the same Web site interesting?
We plan to arrange the virtual world that we are building so that what you encounter first when you go to a new theme will be simple, so that anyone can appreciate it. If you want to know more, you take a virtual elevator up one level. On this level, the science will be presented in such a way that some knowledge in chemistry may be needed to fully understand. Then again, the focus of the Web site is not to simply present a lot of facts, but to motivate and inspire people to explore.Back
