Big Manny On Debut Book - Science Is Lit
BLK Brit interviews innovative science content creator Emanuel Wallace aka Big Manny. His work embodies the definition of educational entertainment- adding flare, personality and humour to his videos showing just how fun and accessible science can be.
With a master’s degree in Biomedical Science, in addition to his brilliant social media presence, Manny has appeared on the iconic Blue Peter and regularly collaborates with BBC Bitesize, dedicated to engaging the next generation of fresh minds. Manny will now add published author to his credentials, with his debut book Science is Lit officially released on 8th August, aimed at budding young scientists aged 9-12.
We discuss the importance of age and class friendly content, discovering the passion for science, creative challenges, considerations in curating the book and an exciting experiment he is yet to showcase!
Big Manny, Charlotte Knee Photography
What was your process into deciding to publish a book at this point in your journey?
“I'm a content creator, so I make a lot of science videos, a lot of chemistry, biology and physics and what I decided to do was convert the science videos into a written format. Because what I wanted to do was cater for different types of learners; the videos, they help the visual learners, those who learn by seeing. And then the book, it helps those who learn by reading. I also converted it into an audiobook version so that you can cater for those who learn by listening as well. So yeah, the book stemmed from the science videos. That was the source of the teaching and then after that, we just converted it into the book.”
What was the most challenging part of converting the video format to written and audio format?
“I would say probably the most challenging thing about writing the book, writing is a creative task and sometimes you need some inspiration to be able to write. So it was challenging sometimes because I had to wait for that spark of inspiration, you can't force it, you know what I mean? However, when the ideas come, yeah, the ideas are just flowing and it's a really enjoyable experience when you get into that creative mode, that's how I found it.”
It’s challenging when you get writer's block, you're just like, come on, I've got deadlines! (both laugh). There's so many comments that if they were taught in the manner that you do your videos that it would have made science more accessible. Representation is so important; so what were your inspirations to go into science growing up? When did you develop the interest?
”From I was young, yeah, I was really inquisitive and I had a lot of questions. Just to give you an example of the type of child I was, I would do things like open up my toys because I wanted to see what was inside it. Like if I had a toy car, how does it work, you know, so naturally I gravitated towards science because science gives you the answers to those questions, so yeah, that's why I went towards it. And then along the journey when I was about in year 8 or so, I had a teacher called Mr.Carter and he was a very engaging and passionate science teacher. When he was teaching you, you could literally see the excitement and the engagement and the passion on his face. He passed that passion for science onto me when I was in year 8, and so what I'm trying to do for the young people of today is get them excited the same way my teacher got me engaged through the experiments. Because I just feel like the experiments can really get kids interested.”
I think the great thing about your content is it’s not just kids that are enjoying it, a lot of adults who probably liked science but didn't quite get the experience of having a passionate teacher can now engage with it, and it helps them to support their children in their learning because now they’re understanding it better.
“Yeah, you know what, that was one of the most surprising things for me to find out; that a lot of adults and parents really liked the content as well. When I first started making it [content], it was aimed at GCSE students because I wanted to help them with their exams. But then I found that a lot of adults started commenting saying things Iike, ‘I remember doing this experiment at school, but I never understood it at the time, it didn't make any sense to me. But now that I've watched this video, it just suddenly clicked and it's like the whole experiment makes sense.’ And they're now gaining a new love for science that they never had in school. So yeah, man, it's brilliant that I can reignite that passion for science in adults as well as the kids.”
It's lovely that it had that unexpected effect. But you have such a relatable character so it’s understandable. With that, it’s nice because you focus on curriculum based experiments, just going into what you said, and it feeds into your childhood passion as well. But you also do things like in your recent video making the mouthwash and the gallium bookmark, so it’s great that you incorporate daily, everyday things into your experiments. Do you feel there is more scope for the curriculum or classroom teaching to also incorporate more everyday things into the experiments conducted in class?
“Yeah, yeah, definitely! I think that the curriculum should be more focused on how science is used in our everyday lives because a lot of the time when we get older we think to ourselves I learned these things in school but I never actually apply it to my everyday life. So I feel that the curriculum should reflect what students are going to do when they grow up, yeah, I think that's important.”
In one of your previous interviews, you made a point that how you speak doesn’t equate intelligence and that as people from different backgrounds, we are aware of code switching in certain environments. How important was it to keep the right tone in your writing within the book as well?
“Very important you know, because I feel like the language that I use in my videos, like I use some colloquial terms; sometimes you might hear me saying things like innit or wha gwarn or you dun know. And what I find yeah, is that it helps to make the science more relatable and approachable for the students because these are words that they use themselves. So when information is coming from like a peer, somebody who's on a similar level to you, it can be easier for them to understand, as opposed to if it's coming from an authoritative figure. So that’s the rationale behind the language that I use. I want to create a better connection between the educator and the student so that the student will be more likely to take the information on board and internalise it.”
Big Manny, Charlotte Knee Photography
What do you feel people from different backgrounds can bring to the world of science? Because there’s a lot of importance in having inclusion across different fields.
“A lot of value, a lot of value. Just to give an example, when I was in school they taught us about elements 104 and 105, which were discovered by a scientist called Mr.Rutherford, a very famous, well-known, world-renowned scientist. However, what they don't tell you is that there was a Black scientist called James Andrew Harris on his team who was monumental in the discovery of those two elements, but in school they never taught us about that. It wasn't until I got older and I started doing my own independent research that I found that out. So yeah, I think it's important that young people know that there are scientists out there who come from all different walks of life, different backgrounds, so that science seems more attainable and accessible for them, because you can't be what you can't see. So when people see scientists that look like them, talk like them, dress like them, it’s gonna make them think yeah, he can become a scientist so I can do it as well.”
I love that. So I wanted to go into this part as well, you’re also a musician which is pretty cool. What similarities are there between music and science? Because not a lot of people see the similarities or parallels, but what ones do you see?
“Oh man, music is like purely science man! I'll be honest, there's so much science like sound, do you know I mean, sound waves; how do they travel? How do you manipulate the sound to make it sound nice and sweet for the music? What frequencies in the sound do you want to take out? Which ones do you want to boost up to make it sound better? So music is a science in itself, you know I mean, and I think they are a lot more interlinked than what people realise. Science is everywhere literally, it’s in everything, if you look hard enough you’ll see it.”
Yes! It’s similar to mathematics in that sense, maths is everywhere which feeds into the science, the aspects are all interlinked and it's nice when you have people that are passionate about it that can sort of show you those links. Sometimes you don't get it until you see somebody that's talking about it that's passionate about it. The illustrations in the book also reflect the fun element; what was the process in making sure that part was right as well?
“Yeah, you know what with the illustrations, I wanted to personify the periodic table. I wanted to bring it to life and I wanted to make these elements real characters. Like for example hydrogen, hydrogen's got real personality traits and when the hydrogen interacts with the sodium they're gonna create something, a whole new compound. So what I wanted to do here was bring students along the journey with the elements with the periodic table, so that they can actually live inside it, so that they can get a better understanding of how these elements are. So yeah, I just wanted to bring it to life. I've also got a cartoon illustration of myself in there as well. I wanted to make it really light-hearted and fun for the kids and to make it like a game almost. Because the best way to learn is when you're having fun. Sometimes if you're having fun yeah, you won't even realise that you're learning. If you're enjoying it that much, by the end of it, you're like, oh, wow, I just learned all of that stuff, but I didn't know that because it was such an enjoyable experience. So that's why I wanted to make the book fun.
You’ve collaborated and done things Blue Peter and BBC Bitesize, these would have been things that you had access to when you were coming up educationally, how does it feel to now be contributing to these platforms?
“The Bitesize one is absolutely crazy because that was one of the most important resources for me when I was growing up, Key Stage 3. Bitesize was like, it had everything that I needed, so to get to a stage where I’m actually working with Bitesize and supplying the science resources for the students. Like it blows my mind, like it's crazy, you know. Yeah man, but I'm just so happy that I can help people to get their own qualifications and get their own degree and have their own successful career. I'm glad to be a part of that. “
Last question; is there a particular experiment that’s bigger that you would love to do, but haven’t done just yet?
“Yeah, the most reactive metal in the whole world, caesium metal. I've never done an experiment with that one before because I’m a bit scared (both laugh) because it’s very reactive you know what I mean, yeah, it's a mad one! So I'm just building up the courage, but obviously one day I will have the bravery and the courage to do that one. Yeah man, that's the one that I really want to do.”
Thank you so much for taking the time. It's been a pleasure speaking to you.