scholarly journals Birth of a science centre. Italian phenomenology

2006 ◽  
Vol 05 (02) ◽  
pp. F
Author(s):  
Paola Rodari
Keyword(s):  
San Francisco ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Science Museum ◽  
Cultural Economic ◽  
The Public ◽  
European Science ◽  
Science Centre ◽  
Total Investment ◽  
Science Centres ◽  
The Cost

In May 2004 the Balì Museum, Planetarium and interactive science museum, was opened to the public in Italy: 35 hands-on exhibits designed according to the interactive tradition of the Exploratorium in San Francisco, an astronomic observatory for educational activities, a Planetarium with 70 places. With a total investment of about three million euros, about two thirds of which were spent on restructuring the splendid eighteenth-century villa in which it is housed, the undertaking may be considered a small one in comparison with other European science centres. Three million euros: perhaps enough to cover the cost of only the splendid circular access ramp to the brand-new Cosmocaixa in Barcelona, an investment of one hundred million euros. But the interesting aspect of the story of the Balì Museum (but also of other Italian stories, as we shall see) lies in the fact that this lively and advanced science centre stands in the bucolic region of the Marches, next to a small town of only 800 inhabitants (Saltara, in the Province of Pesaro and Urbino), in a municipal territory that has a total of 5000. Whereas in Italy the projects for science centres comparable with the Catalan one, for example projects for Rome and Turin, never get off the ground, smaller ones are opening in small and medium-sized towns: why is this? And what does the unusual location of the centres entail for science communication in Italy? This Focus does not claim to tell the whole truth about Italian interactive museums, but it does offer some phenomenological cues to open a debate on the cultural, economic and political premises that favour their lives.

scholarly journals Changing standpoint on issues, by playing

2010 ◽  
Vol 09 (02) ◽  
pp. C02
Author(s):  
Sally Duensing
Keyword(s):  
San Francisco ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Limited Time ◽  
Mutual Exchange ◽  
The Public ◽  
Strong Point ◽  
The World

Sally Duensing previously worked at the Exploratorium in San Francisco and is now based in London where she carries out research on science communication. In this interview, she tells about her experience as an evaluator of the Decide project, one of the most successful discussion games ever designed. Years after its creation, Decide is still used nearly all over the world. Its main strong point is that it allows to grasp the standpoint of the others and, at the same time, to express your own standpoint in a mutual exchange of experience; in addition, the interface and the game rules allow to overcome any cultural and age gaps. However, sometimes the public expects a debate with an expert rather than a dialogue among peers, whereas on other occasions the debate was inhibited especially by the presence of a scientist. In museums, discussion games often clash with the needs of members of the public, who generally have limited time. However they can still be useful to the museum activities when the results of the discussions are used to program other activities: it is a way to gather valuable information on the public’s orientations which is often underrated.

scholarly journals Science museums as political places. Representing nanotechnology in European science museums

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (04) ◽  
pp. C02 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brice Laurent
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Public Understanding Of Science ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
The Political ◽  
Science Museums ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Role ◽  
European Science ◽  
Understanding Of Science ◽  
Global Public Policy

Science museums perform representations of science and that of its publics. They have been called to intervene in nanotechnology within global public policy programs expected to develop the field. This paper discusses the case of European science museums. It starts by examining the case of a European project that involved science museums working on nanotechnology. This example illustrates a "democratic imperative" that European science museums face, and which implies a transformation of their public role. It offers a path for the analysis of the current evolution of European science communication perspective – from "public understanding of science" to "scientific understanding of the public" – and of the political construction this evolution enacts.

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.

scholarly journals Explainers of science centres and museums: a study on these stakeholders in the mediation between science and the public in Brazil

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (02) ◽  
pp. A01 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chrystian Carlétti ◽  
Luisa Massarani
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Young People ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
The Public ◽  
High School Certificate ◽  
Science Centres ◽  
Brazilian Science ◽  
Practice Of Science

In this paper, we investigate who are the explainers who work is Brazilian science centres and museums. We used an online survey, which was answered by 370 people from 73 institutions out of a group of 200 scientific and cultural centres. Our results indicate that most of these professionals are young people between 18 and 25 years old, they hold a high school certificate or are attending university, and they have been working in this field for less than five years. Only a fifth declared that they had done professional training before starting their activities; about 60% said that they are not prepared to attend to disabled visitors. We believe that our study will improve the practice of science communication, contributing to the creation of training and professional courses.

scholarly journals Mediation within science centres and museums. The guides of Universum, México

2008 ◽  
Vol 07 (04) ◽  
pp. C04
Author(s):  
Concepción Ruiz Ruiz-Funes
Keyword(s):  
Science Museum ◽  
Central Theme ◽  
Scientific Culture ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Science Centres ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Social Importance

The creation of a scientific culture through the experiences that can be offered in a museum is the central theme in the training of guides at Universum. Emphasising the social importance of science democratisation, providing the public with the chance to enjoy science itself, conceiving it as a human creation of extreme beauty, giving it the chance to be appreciated and enjoyed, presenting it from the different fields where an approach to it is possible, is something difficult to achieve outside a science museum and impossible without the intervention of the anfitriones.

Geotourism – practices, challenges and potentialities in Algarve

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Azevedo Rodrigues ◽  
Axel Bamberger ◽  
Astrid Blum
Keyword(s):  
Informal Education ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Field Trips ◽  
Science Museum ◽  
Geological Features ◽  
Science Centre ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Primary Focus ◽  
And Training

<p>Algarve is one Portugal regions’ in where the tourism activities are most relevant both socially and economically. Although Algarve’s most important touristic products are beaches resorts and summer weather conditions, as well as golf and gastronomy, this region still preserve a wide variety of topographies and geographical features that could constitute the basis for Geotourism activities.</p><p>Here we present some examples of how Science Communication (SC) and a Science Museum/Centre (SCM) are the ideal intermediates between the tourists and the tourist site or scenic resource. We also disclose how SCM’s could act independently or with less obvious partners, private and public, in developing or complementing Geoutourism activities.</p><p>Geoutourism activities’ and intervention areas of the Lagos Ciência Viva Science Centre and its partners could be grouped and will detailed in:</p><ol><li>a) Scientific advice and training of tour operators or visit co-guiding; b) scientific residencies programs and field trips; c) production of materials - exs. thematic guides, 3D reconstructions, and printed and mobile interpretative information; d) SCM partners participation in research projects (Citizen Science).</li> </ol><p>Finally, we present examples of how SC and SCM could adapt the informal education techniques into tourist operators training contributing this way to an increase and diversity of the tourist professionals that work in Algarve and enrich the tourist experience further than the landscape appreciation.</p><p>Here we use and adopt the following definition: “Geotourism is sustainable tourism with a primary focus on experiencing the earth’s geological features in a way that fosters environmental and cultural understanding, appreciation and conservation, and is locally beneficial” (Dowling & Newsome, 2006).</p>

scholarly journals Creating exhibitions from debates

2010 ◽  
Vol 09 (02) ◽  
pp. C05
Author(s):  
Guglielmo Maglio
Keyword(s):  
Personal Experience ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Time Limits ◽  
Science Centre ◽  
Science Centres ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Ideal

Guglielmo Maglio is Manager of Exhibitions at the science centre “Città della Scienza” of Naples. With “Città della Scienza” he took part in the creation of “Decide”, which he appreciates for its ability to create an informal atmosphere favouring discussion. As concerns the involvement of scientists and policy-makers in the debate, though desirable, it sometimes may influence negatively the spontaneity of the debate among non-experts. In the participants, the main differences can be ascribed to personal experience, rather than to other factors such as age, nationality or social groups. Though not the ideal places for the use of this kind of games, especially owing to time limits, science centres may exploit them to attract specific groups of interest and may obtain useful information on the attitudes of the public to subsequently develop exhibitions and events on the themes dealt with.

scholarly journals Knowledge◦Room exploring social justice by going beyond ‘traditional’ spaces and activities of science centres

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (01) ◽  
pp. C03
Author(s):  
Hessam Habibi Doroh ◽  
Barbara Streicher
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Disadvantaged Groups ◽  
Science Centre ◽  
Science Engagement ◽  
Science Centres ◽  
Diverse Groups

This article describes an example of science engagement striving for social justice by invigorating neglected spaces. The pop-up science centre “Knowledge◦Room“ in Vienna encourages learning, participation and engagement and provides accessibility to different groups regardless of their background. Based on a case-study of a bottom-up event at the Knowledge◦Room, we show how science communication can create a trust-based connection with disadvantaged groups in society and inspire their curiosity in science. We argue that science communication can be used as a tool for advancing social justice in the wider sense and facilitate encounters between diverse groups within society.

scholarly journals STEM escape rooms for public engagement

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Mathieson ◽  
Edward Duca
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Informal Science ◽  
Educational Context ◽  
Scientific Content ◽  
The Public ◽  
Cultural Phenomenon ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Puzzle Solving ◽  
Science Centre ◽  
Science Engagement

Escape rooms are a relatively new cultural phenomenon, attracting a wide range of audiences to test their puzzle-solving skills. While this format has been trialled in an educational context, there has been little exploration of it as a tool for engagement. We ran a STEM-based escape room, open to the public, over five days at a science centre in Malta. This was an exploratory exercise to determine whether escape rooms could be successful in an informal science engagement context. Over seventy players attempted the game and completed our evaluation. Our results suggest that escape rooms can be used in engagement contexts as they provide a positive experience that encourages future interactions with science. They may also draw audiences not normally interested in science and help them engage with scientific content in a more accessible manner. Interestingly, players were able to persist in engaging with content they found difficult while still finding it enjoyable, which has implications for the science communication of complex topics. Finally, players perceived that they were able to learn science through the escape room, which may increase their self-efficacy.

Everything you've always wanted to know about what your students think they know but were afraid to ask.

2000 ◽  
Vol 632 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Werwa
Keyword(s):  
Materials Science ◽  
Science Museum ◽  
Science And Engineering ◽  
Museum Exhibit ◽  
Museum Visitors ◽  
The Public ◽  
Materials Science And Engineering ◽  
Properties Of Materials ◽  
Formal Science ◽  
Lay Public

ABSTRACTA review of the educational literature on naive concepts about principles of chemistry and physics and surveys of science museum visitors reveal that people of all ages have robust alternative notions about the nature of atoms, matter, and bonding that persist despite formal science education experiences. Some confusion arises from the profound differences in the way that scientists and the lay public use terms such as materials, metals, liquids, models, function, matter, and bonding. Many models that eloquently articulate arrangements of atoms and molecules to informed scientists are not widely understood by lay people and may promote naive notions among the public. Shifts from one type of atomic model to another and changes in size scales are particularly confusing to learners. People's abilities to describe and understand the properties of materials are largely based on tangible experiences, and much of what students learn in school does not help them interpret their encounters with materials and phenomena in everyday life. Identification of these challenges will help educators better convey the principles of materials science and engineering to students, and will be particularly beneficial in the design of the Materials MicroWorld traveling museum exhibit.

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