Beautiful guides. The value of explainers in science communication

Abstract

During the last annual conference of ECSITE (European Collaborative for Science and Technology Exhibitions; Helsinki, June 2005), for the first time two discussion sessions were devoted to explainers, the innumerable people – young students mainly – who welcome visitors at exhibitions, museums and festivals, who animate laboratories and science shows, who guide, explain and lately also stimulate and manage discussions and participatory procedures. Thanks to the involvement of the speakers, who agreed to submit a broadened version of their papers, JCOM is glad to host the proceedings of these meetings. A great deal has to be done yet in order to analyse the complex European context and to fully understand the explainer’s professional profile.

The work of science museum educators

“…Proposed efforts to reform and streamline the sector include providing professional development to educate and re-skill its workforce (DCMS 2005). Furthermore, in Europe, and more specifically in science museums, the educators who directly engage with visitors are among the lowest paid and undervalued in their institutions, while their job responsibilities continue to increase (Rodari and Xanthoudaki 2005). These accounts suggest that while this field has been in existence for many decades, and despite the efforts of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) to raise the profile and recognition of museum educators (Boylan 1987;Brüninghaus-Knubel 1993), educators' professional work and status remain tenuous and, as a consequence, the educational potential of museums will be curtailed.…”

Best practice in communications training for public engagement with science, technology, engineering and mathematics

“…11 Scientists themselves also acknowledge a need for encouragement, guidance, and skills development in communicating their research. 5 Explainers working within science centres and museums -the facilitators of the visitor's experience 12 are on the interface of science and society. Explainers in science centres and museums represent a very important group with key public-facing responsibilities.…”

“…Similarly, science centres and museums provide training for their explainers, although the programmes differ significantly from one institution or country to another. 12 Obviously, training needs vary in different situations and even for different individuals, 16 nevertheless further strategic direction regarding training for researchers and explainers is clearly required. At present, however, very little is publicly known about the impact of individual training on scientists or explainers.…”

“…Since explainers come from a range of different backgrounds and are expected to be comfortable with all sorts of science contexts, 12 it is understandable that an increase in scientific content is seen as a much appreciated support.…”

Explainers of science centres and museums: a study on these stakeholders in the mediation between science and the public in Brazil

“…Due to the increased number of scientific and cultural institutions, the demand for professionals, including explainers, to work there also increased. Their main task is to facilitate visitors' experience by encouraging them to actively engage in and think about the exhibition [Rodari and Xanthoudaki, 2005].…”