The role of science centres and museums in the dialogue between science and society

Abstract

In a meta-analysis carried out in 2002, the two main associations of science centres and museums (ASTC, mainly US-centered, and ECSITE, mainly European) gathered all studies analysing the impact of science centres and museums on their local communities1. Four types of impact were identified: personal, social, political and economical. It was noticed that the vast majority of studies concentrated on the personal impact (that is, learning outcome, visitor satisfaction, etc.), while the latter three were largely neglected. The very fact of pointing this out, and many recent experiences - some of which are included in this commentary - show that there is now a shift of attention.

Science Centers in a New World of Learning

“…Science centers can enhance their community relevance through public engagement with science (PES). As used here, this term specifically describes mutual learning by an engaged public and scientists sharing discourse on societal impacts of science and technology (Rodari and Merzagora ; McCallie et al ). The Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISE Net), a national community of researchers and informal science educators, launched by the Museum of Science, Boston, and others (Bell ), created a Dimensions of Public Engagement conference and wiki (http://dimensionsofpes.wikispaces.com/).…”

Science Centers and Public Participation

“…At the same time, SCMs are under pressure to develop new strategies to engage and involve the public in the development of their activities and programs, in order to strengthen their social relevance and become meaningful players in the dialogue between science and society (Rodari & Merzagora, 2007). SCMs are therefore currently developing new methods to share the traditional authority of the museum with the public and to achieve a more transparent epistemological process (Cameron, 2008(Cameron, , 2010.…”

Supporting quality in science communication: insights from the QUEST project

“…] this must be a central role of science museums of the present and future" [Gorman, 2020, p. 150]. Involving public audiences in participatory approaches, co-creation activities, and citizen science initiatives, will lead to citizens having a louder voice in the decision-making and governance of museums, and will strengthen the relationship between science and society [Rodari and Merzagora, 2007;Bandelli and Konijn, 2013;Sforzi et al, 2018]. The demand for ever improving science communication from the museum field grows more critical all the time: "In times of ecological collapse and global pandemics, it has never been more urgent to focus on reimagining our existing science museums and creating new edge spaces, to bring science-in-the-making into contact with policy, to bring research into contact with the public -the future of our planet depends on it" [Gorman, 2020, p. 153].…”