Exploring public attitudes towards science helps investigate the images of science and what the social representations of science are. In this regard, science communication plays a crucial role in its different ways of addressing different publics.
Hiša Eksperimentov (The House of Experiments) is a very small science centre. We are situated in the centre of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. The gross area of the centre is only 500 square meters and we meet around 25,000 visitors per year. We were opened for the public in the year 2000. In the Hiša Eksperimentov there are four full-time employees and around 10 persons working and paid by fees. There are specific institutions present in Slovenia so called Student services. They help students in finding paid job on daily basis. The state still encourages students to work by lowering the
Techniquest was established in 1986, and in 1995 moved to its current premises at Cardiff Bay, South Wales. This was the first purpose-built science centre in the UK. It receives around 200,000 visitors every year to its exhibition, and to its programmes for schools and public audiences in the theatre, laboratory, discovery room and planetarium. The author joined the Techniquest project in 1985, became a staff member in 1990 and was the Chief Executive from 1997 until his retirement in 2004. Techniquest has three “out-stations” in Wales, and is responsible for the supply and maintenance of
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
As recognized by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, the human community has reached a point in which it is faced with an array of choices that will determine the quality of our lives and the state of the global environment for present and future generations. One possibility is that at long last we will pave a path toward environmental stewardship and sustainable development. But it is also quite possible that we will travel a less enlightened course, running down the earth's natural capital and severely limiting the choices our descendants will face.
Museums and galleries collect more visitor data today than ever before. But how much of it gives us real insight into visitors motivations, behaviour, experiences and responses? And how much of it simply ticks a box on a funding form? Commissioned by some of the UK’s leading institutions, including Tate, The British Museum, V&A and the Imperial War Museum North, Morris Hargreaves McIntyre has tackled this insight deficit head on. In doing so, we have helped these organisations to move beyond the data routinely collected to get to the knowledge they actually need.
In October 2005, the National Science Foundation brought members of its nanoscale science and engineering education (NSEE) projects to Arlington, VA for a 2-day workshop to explore the status of on-going efforts and to forge collaborations at the national level that would facilitate future efforts. NSF currently funds NSEE projects through the Division of Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education (ESIE), the Directorate for Engineering as part of the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Centers (NSEC), National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN), the Network for Computational
This monograph, the final report of the 21st Century Literacy Summit held in April 2005, presents an action plan for this emerging field applicable to higher education, K-12 education, policy makers, media & the arts, and research, and details the strategic priorities and specific recommendations for these sectors that were the summit's major outcomes.
This report offers an assessment of environmental literacy in America that is both sobering and hopeful. This summary of almost a decade of NEETF (National Environmental Education & Training Foundation) collaboration with Roper Reports provides a loud wake-up call to the environmental education community, to community leaders, and to influential specialists ranging from physicians to weathercasters. At a time when Americans are confronted with increasingly challenging environmental choices, we learn that our citizenry is by and large both uninformed and misinformed.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Kevin Coyle
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
In this article, Eugene Dillenburg, an Exhibit Developer at The Science Museum of Minnesota, shares a collection of stories from colleagues about their experiences in the museum field. The stories relate to defining moments in their career paths including how they began in the museum field, early experiences, witnessing the impact of their work, dealing with controversy, powerful interactions with objects, and career mobility and shifts.
In this article, Joyce Cheney, independent exhibit developer and curator of HELP's Apron Strings exhibit, and Edana McSweeney, co-director of the Hands-on Experiential Learning Project (HELP), describes how the project, created by the Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA), provides customized, on-site training to institutions without disrupting daily museum operations or community access. The authors also describe the impact of HELP on a small institution--The Depot Museum--in Henderson, Texas.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Joyce CheneyEdana McSweeney
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
This article presents examples of practical strategies for developing a positive and productive working relationship between museum clients and outside design firms contracted to develop exhibits. Authors include Donna R. Braden, Lead Experience Developer at The Henry Ford, Joseph Hines, Owner and Principal/Designer of Project Arts & Ideas, and Sharon Klotz, Director of Exhibitions at the Brooklyn Children's Museum.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Donna BradenJoseph HinesSharon Klotz