What a positive, upbeat and spirited crowd we had in Boston today for the March for Science.
I wish I could better estimate crowd size, but the tremendous turnout in Boston looked to me as follows. At peak attendance, about half of Boston Common was full of standing people. The rest of the park had scattered masses of moving people, or empty space. In total, Boston Common is approximately fifty acres!
A pretty decent attendance by any measure, and it would have been bigger I’m sure were it not for the chilly temperatures and passing showers.
Speakers included former head of the EPA, Gina McCarthy, who told of how crucial science at the agency is being defunded and censored under Trump. Geneticist George M. Church of Harvard and MIT astronomer Anna Frebel spoke.
A big area for children was set up, and was well attended. I had to wonder if anyone in there might become a heavyweight name in decades to come.
Some signs carried in the crowd:
“Science, Not Silence.” (Sort of the unofficial slogan of the march.)
“I Am A Very Mad Scientist.”
“Science: Like Magic, but Real.”
“What do we want? Evidence-based Science! When do we want it? After Peer-review.”
“Climate Science says Trump is a Russian Hoax.”
“Science, Correcting Alternative Facts Since the Earth was Flat.”
“I have a PhD in Immunology, but tell me again those baseless vaccine opinions you got from a random blog.”
“Science, Not Just For Smart People.”
“My transgenic mouse is smarter than your president.”
“Science is not a Liberal Conspiracy.”
“English Major for Science.”
“Remember Polio? Me Neither. Thank a scientist.”
“Don’t Let Donald Trump Screw Your Mother.” (Caption under a photo of planet Earth.)
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