Welcome to Science Court!
Science Court is a project designed to combat polarization in American society and strengthen democracy. It is run as an interdisciplinary course in the University of Minnesota Honors Program involving students from across the university. The students select a controversial issue and spend an entire semester studying it in depth to determine the facts (based on sound scientific research) and then argue it in a mock trial in front of a jury of citizens with a mix of views and backgrounds. The public is engaged through compelling audio, video and online content generated by the students about the preparations, trial and verdict. The trial is free and open to the public.
LATEST BLOG POSTS
Dams Kill People Too!
Nuclear energy has a pretty bad reputation- radioactive materials, nuclear meltdowns- most people don't really trust the safety of nuclear power plants. Most people might just be unfairly biased against nuclear power, and we'll discuss it in the latest podcast about the health and safety of nuclear engineering.
Kerri Miller Visits SciCourt
The ScienceCourt team was lucky enough to sit down with MPR host and former television reporter Kerri Miller to discuss their research and arguments. Gear up- because the science court team is ready for court!
Evidence Challenge: An Update from our Programming Team
So you might be curious as to what actually happened at our Evidence Challenge a couple of weeks ago? What went down? Who argued what? What did Judge Bill McGinnis decide as to what research the science and legal teams could use as evidence and what they must throw out of the pool? Watch this explainer video made by our Programming Team member Grace O'Neil to see for yourself!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUDW-LXHNRA&feature=youtu.be