The Australian Science Centre Movement 1980–2000: Part 1—Questacon, the National Science and Technology Centre

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Bryant ◽  
Mike Gore ◽  
Sue Stocklmayer
Keyword(s):  
Driving Force ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Human Face ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Science Centre ◽  
National Science ◽  
National University ◽  
Australian Science

Part 1: Scholarly concerns over science communication and in particular public attitudes towards and engagement with science have continued for almost half a century, but the establishment of a ‘hands-on' science centre in Canberra in 1980 put practice ahead of theory and led to the building of Questacon—the National Science and Technology Centre in 1988. The driving force behind this development was Australian National University physicist Dr Mike Gore. Funding came from the Australian and Japanese Governments—the latter a bicentennial gift—and a team of ‘explainers' at the centre helped visitors to appreciate that this science centre was not a museum but a place where science had a human face.

The Australian Science Centre Movement 1980–2000: Part 2—Science Centres in the States

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Bryant ◽  
Mike Gore ◽  
Sue Stocklmayer
Keyword(s):  
First Century ◽  
Original Form ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Science Centre ◽  
National Science ◽  
Science Centres ◽  
Australian Science ◽  
Twenty First Century

Between 1980 and 1995 eight science centres opened across Australia, driven by the enthusiasm of their originators, funded in various ways, but all acknowledging the leadership of the National Science Centre in Canberra. Six of the centres have continued into the twenty-first century and some have changed their original form, but the philosophy of ‘hands-on' science has been preserved.The accounts in this article are based on extensive notes provided by the protagonists.

scholarly journals Public science communication in Africa: views and practices of academics at the National University of Science and Technology in Zimbabwe

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (06) ◽  
pp. A05 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Ndlovu ◽  
Marina Joubert ◽  
Nelius Boshoff
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Popular Media ◽  
Peer Communication ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Public Science ◽  
The Public ◽  
Science Engagement ◽  
National University ◽  
Funding Environment

This study of the science communication views and practices of African researchers ― academics at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) in Zimbabwe ― reveals a bleak picture of the low status of public science engagement in the developing world. Researchers prioritise peer communication and pay little attention to the public, policy makers and popular media. Most scientists believe the public is largely not scientifically literate or interested in research. An unstable funding environment, a lack of communication incentives and censoring of politically sensitive findings further constrain researchers' interest in public engagement. Most NUST academics, however, are interested in science communication training. We suggest interventions that could revive and support public science engagement at African universities.

scholarly journals Science is not for me. Visitors’ attitudes to learning in an Italian science centre

2006 ◽  
Vol 05 (02) ◽  
pp. A02
Author(s):  
Monia Cardella
Keyword(s):  
San Francisco ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Science Museums ◽  
Complex Issue ◽  
Scientific Exploration ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Master Thesis ◽  
Science Centre ◽  
Italian Science

Following the example of the Exploratorium in San Francisco, interactive science museums are meant to be informal and enjoyable places where visitors, regardless of their age and background, are stimulated to practice their abilities to explore the world from a scientific point of view or to reacquire it in the case of adults who are far from science for professional reasons. Our study, which belongs to a relatively recent, but increasingly richer and complex tradition of researches on this topic, aims at contributing to answering the question whether, within the context of hands-on museums, this desired reacquisition of scientific exploration actually occurs for all visitors; more precisely, it aims at contributing to the discussion resulting from this question with reference to both possible answers and methods to find them. The study described below was carried out for a Science Communication Master thesis in Trieste (student: Monia Cardella, supervisor: Paola Rodari) and, therefore, it is inevitably limited: in fact, in order to deal with such a complex issue and to perform more detailed investigations on the field longer time and more resources would have been necessary. However, both methods used and results obtained from it, although provisional, are significant enough to deserve our attention.

ORAL HISTORY SOURCES AS LEARNING MATERIALS: A CASE STUDY OF THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-93
Author(s):  
Gugulethu Shamaine Nkala ◽  
Rodreck David
Keyword(s):  
Oral History ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Human Interaction ◽  
Learning Material ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
National Archives ◽  
National University ◽  
Set Up

Knowledge presented by Oral History (OH) is unique in that it shares the tacit perspective, thoughts, opinions and understanding of the interviewee in its primary form. While teachers, lecturers and other education specialists have at their disposal a wide range of primary, secondary and tertiary sources upon which to relate and share or impart knowledge, OH presents a rich source of information that can improve the learning and knowledge impartation experience. The uniqueness of OH is presented in the following advantages of its use: it allows one to learn about the perspectives of individuals who might not otherwise appear in the historical record; it allows one to compensate for the digital age; one can learn different kinds of information; it provides historical actors with an opportunity to tell their own stories in their own words; and it offers a rich opportunity for human interaction. This article discusses the placement of oral history in the classroom set-up by investigating its use as a source of learning material presented by the National Archives of Zimbabwe to students in the Department of Records and Archives Management at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST). Interviews and a group discussion were used to gather data from an archivist at the National Archives of Zimbabwe, lecturers and students in the Department of Records and Archives Management at NUST, respectively. These groups were approached on the usability, uniqueness and other characteristics that support this type of knowledge about OH in a tertiary learning experience. The findings indicate several qualities that reflect the richness of OH as a teaching source material in a classroom set-up. It further points to weak areas that may be addressed where the source is considered a viable strategy for knowledge sharing and learning. The researchers present a possible model that can be used to champion the use of this rich knowledge source in classroom education at this university and in similar set-ups. 

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