Science museums and science centers exist (in large part) to bring science to the public. But what public do they serve? The challenge of equity is embodied by the gulf that separates a museum’s actual public and the more diverse publics that comprise our society. Yet despite growing scholarly interest in museums and science centers, few researchers have explored how these organizations seek to bridge that gulf. Adopting an institutional theory perspective, we argue that equity is a field-wide challenge in informal science education—a challenge that different organizations define and respond
This article argues that it is useful to see historical exhibitions as both responses and contributors to narratives about science that are circulating in the public sphere. It uses the example of the 1876 Loan Collection of Scientific Apparatus (which was the immediate predecessor of the Science Museum in London). The article demonstrates how, in promoting this huge exhibition and fighting for the necessary support and resources, leading scientific, cultural and political figures engaged with two rather different public interpretations of science’s past, present and future. One dealt with
When George Adams assembled a large collection of philosophical instruments for King George III in the early 1760s, he drew on a variety of printed books as sources of experiments and instrument designs. Most important of these was Mathematical Elements of Natural Philosophy by the Dutch mathematician and philosopher Willem ’s Gravesande, whose own collection of instruments is now in the Museum Boerhaave in Leiden. Papers in the Science Museum archives reveal the specific practices through which Adams used books such as Mathematical Elements in the course of his business. These techniques
This essay seeks to explain what the “science of science communication” is by *doing* it. Surveying studies of cultural cognition and related dynamics, it demonstrates how the form of disciplined observation, measurement, and inference distinctive of scientific inquiry can be used to test rival hypotheses on the nature of persistent public conflict over societal risks; indeed, it argues that satisfactory insight into this phenomenon can be achieved only by these means, as opposed to the ad hoc story-telling dominant in popular and even some forms of scholarly discourse. Synthesizing the
The arrival of William Bally’s set of miniature phrenological specimens in Manchester for the Wellcome Collection exhibition Brains: The Mind as Matter (26 July 2013 – 4 January 2014) was an ideal time to reassess the mysteries of its production – was it made in Manchester or Dublin? In what context was it produced? Phrenology – the study of the shape and contours of the skull to determine mental faculties – has received attention from historians. But the origin and context of this object, although long part of the canon of 19th-century phrenology, has never been fully explored. Close
Rockman et al (REA), in partnership with Marti Louw and the University of Pittsburgh Center for Learning in Out-of-School Environments (UPCLOSE), conducted a summative evaluation in Fall 2012-Spring 2013 of a temporary museum exhibition at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) in Pittsburgh, PA called, Stories in the Rock. The exhibition highlighted CMNH researchers’ documentation of ancient petroglyph sites in Saudi Arabia using GigaPan technology to capture high-resolution, zoomable images of the rock art. The exhibition centers around an activity called the Explorable Image, a
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University of Pittsburgh Center for Learning in Out-of-School EnvironmentsCamellia Sanford-Dolly
The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) seeks support to complete the reinstallation of its 25,800 square-foot permanent Gallery of California History and to develop and implement accompanying educational programs. OMCA’s history collections contain the largest, finest, and most comprehensive collection of California material culture anywhere. The Gallery of California History was originally created in the 1960s and 70s, and it has been more than 20 years since it has been updated. The new installation of the gallery will include approximately 2,200 historical artifacts, works of art, ethnographic materials, and original photographs. This reinstallation is part of a major transformation of the entire museum that will realize the institution’s deep and continuing commitment to telling the full story of California and its people. The opening of the new Gallery of California History is planned for early 2010.
This project will reinterpret a significant property owned by Historic Hudson Valley (HHV). Using as a focusing device the experiences of four women who shaped this country estate during its 200-year history, the new interpretation will illustrate important turning points in American attitudes toward nature and landscape. As it forges a more integrated, effective way for house museums to interpret the built and natural environments, HHV will strive to help visitors understand how American points of view about landscape and nature have changed over time and why those shifts matter. Project formats include an interpretive tour of the nearly 400-acre site; web-based programs and blog; and publications. The story of Montgomery Place reflects many of the ideas and values that have shaped America’s land and people. The project addresses how cultural attitudes toward the natural world determine human actions, and how these actions in turn affect people’s environments.
Today's Brooklyn Navy Yard is a rarity: a 19th-century citadel of the Industrial Revolution reincarnated as a model of clean industrial re-use in the 21st century. A historic national icon, the Yard has long been a mystery to its neighbors. Now, for the first time since 1801, BNYDC is inviting the public in and offering a unique and remarkable venue where the Yard can tell its many stories, most for the first time. On September 7, 2011 (Labor Day), BNYDC will open the Brooklyn Navy Yard Center at Building 92, a visitor center and home of a new exhibition, The Brooklyn Navy Yard: Past, Present, and Future.
There can be a mistaken impression that the new vision for K-12 science education is only relevant to classroom science instruction. But youth frequently engage in powerful science and engineering activities that take place after or outside-of-school. They learn STEM content, engage in STEM practices, and develop an understanding of how STEM is used in the world. To capitalize on those assets, educators and other stakeholders should learn about, leverage, and broker connections for youth across the STEM learning experiences available in and out of school.
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) contracted RK&A to conduct audience research for the Central Park Zoo (Zoo), located in the heart of New York City. As part of the study, RK&A explored the value visitors’ place on their Zoo experiences and the ways in which visitors use the Zoo and surrounding area. Findings from the study provide the WCS with a preliminary understanding of their visitors and lay the groundwork for a second phase of audience research. How did we approach this study? RK&A conducted in-depth interviews to explore visitors’ thoughts and perceptions of the Zoo, as well as
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Wildlife Conservation SocietyStephanie DowneyRandi Korn
The Friends of the C&TSRR, a non-profit 50l(c)(3) dedicated to preserving and interpreting the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad (C&TSRR), will advance its interpretive programs to complete the schematic design phase of a permanent exhibition planned for a proposed Railroad Visitor Center in Chama, NM; and to acquire the humanities expertise necessary to further develop and implement interpretive content and planning for this and other key sites along the C&TSRR's 64-mile route winding through the San Juan Mountains of Northern NM and Southern CO. The C&TSRR is a designated National Park Service National Historic Site. The C&TSRR, successor to the original Denver & Rio Grande Railroad-San Juan Extension built in 1880, operates today as a 64-mile "living museum" - a coal-fired, steam-powered narrow gauge railroad between Chama, NM and Antonito, CO.