Over recent years, there has been much discussion of the status of science communication as a discipline, as a field of empirical research and theoretical reflection. In our own contributions to that discussion, we have tended to raise questions about the possibilities of this ‘emerging discipline’ (Trench & Bucchi 2010). We have some-times drawn attention to the marks of immaturity—notably, the relatively underdeveloped state of theory in the field.
But when a major international academic publisher commissions an anthology of ‘major works’ in our field, we can surely say that science
Silence of the Lands is a virtual museum of natural quiet in Boulder, Colorado, based on locative and tangible computing. The project promotes a model of virtuality that empowers the active and constructive role of local communities in the interpretation, preservation, and renewal of natural quiet as an important element of the natural heritage. This is accomplished by using sounds as conversation pieces of a social narrative aimed at transforming the virtual museum into an organism linking the people, perspectives, and values that pertain to the specific environmental setting of Boulder
This chapter explores what is already known about museums and their long-term impact on visitors, the complexities and challenges inherent in trying to study and understand long-term impacts, future research and methodological approaches that we can use to effectively assess the longterm impacts of museum experiences, and the implications of these efforts for practice.
In this chapter, we argue that the understanding of objects that children of different ages brings to the museum setting offers a unique perspective. Little direct work on this topic has been conducted in museums. However, there is a body of related work to be found in contemporary studies of children's emerging understanding of the natural and artificial worlds that can be used to develop a framework for understanding how children might approach the world of museum objects. Recent evidence on the development of children's thinking on this subject is presented in the larger context of the
This chapter discusses learning through the manipulation of three-dimensional objects. The opportunity to touch and interact with objects is helpful for young children as they attempt to understand abstract concepts and processes. How might parents guide children in coming to understand the complex and abstract symbolic nature of representational objects?
In this chapter we introduce the notion of islands of expertise, explore links between related socio-cultural and information processing theory, and overview a study of family conversations while parents and children look at authentic and replica fossils in a museum.
This chapter is a selection from the book "The Arts, Education, and Aesthetic Knowing." Should arts education have a more significant place in our schools? An emphatic 'Yes' comes from the editors and other contributors to this provocative volume. They build their case by drawing upon recent developments in cognitive theory and, in particular, upon contemporary thought regarding aesthetic knowing. They contend that aesthetic knowing constitutes a 'special mode of cognition' and they see aesthetic learning as vital to intellectual growth and development. They argue that the arts should
This chapter explores natural history exhibits, particularly dioramas, with regard to both art and authenticity. Dioramas are treated as a novel form of scientific model.