Science in Society
Ann-Marie PendrillVasilia ChristidouAmy Seakins
Visitors to our science centres and museums are often presented with the opportunity to ‘meet a real scientist’ through our programmes, events and activities. But what do our visitors really think about scientists? Do these experiences of meeting...
Human Resources
Barbara StreicherAndrea BandelliKate SteinerPaola Rodari
Being innovative, especially in a collaborative environment, requires an understanding of the status quo and of the efforts made by others in the same and similar fields.
As a research project, we started by reviewing existing literature...
Science & Arts
Pia ArebladDidier LavalMaria Mebius-SchröderGuillaume Trap
How does innovation happen? Enhancing society’s innovation capacity is essential for social prosperity and economic development. Innovations are sparked by challenging old ideas and practices and trying out new ones. This requires courage...
Exhibit development
Ian SimmonsKrista Leusink
With projects such as APE at the Exploratorium in the United States and Curiosity at the Centre for Life in the UK, hands-on exhibitions are moving away from narrow and frustrating learning goals and briefly engaging surprise resolution models...
Ed Sobey
Step into the Grand Bazaar to see the mysteries of hands-on science unfold. Wander among the various “action shops” where you can join the building and experimenting. Catch the excitement as science learning accelerates when you...
Education
Amr AlMadaniMargaret Honey
Inspiring audiences to innovate and be critical thinkers are aspirations shared by science centers and educators. But what role do our teams of science communicators play in inspiring this spirit of innovation? What spaces and programmes foster...
Research, theory & evaluation
Kayte McSweeneyMarie HobsonAna BrajovicMarie Hobson
Good audience research and evaluation allows institutions to be innovative and take risks in their development processes. Embedding evaluation and engagement processes boosts confidence among staff to try new things, experiment with novel...
Networking & Partnerships
Rinske van den BergDaniel LexénTobias ErikssonMikkel Bohm
The session analyses the evolution of industry role in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) education ecosystem, contributing to the debate on Education and Learning – “Teaching innovation. The art of changing perspectives...
Science in Society
Eric SiegelAmparo Leyman PinoMJ Schwartz
The primary objective of any science communication institution is the communication of science and technology. This communication can only be effective when the visitor becomes an active participant in the process. This by definition requires two...
Exhibit development
Johannes-Geert HagmannKevin EliceiriJochen ThamGöran MånssonKristina Yu
The fascination for the macrocosm and the scales of the universe, as seen through astronomical observation, has continuously been a source of inspiration for visitors in science centres and museums. On the opposite end of the scale, microscope...
Science in Society
Alex VerkadeJen WongMark DingemanseBas Haring
Innovation starts with dreaming. So, to innovate, we need good dreamers. Who are the best dreamers we know? Kids. Artists. Philosophers, maybe. People less confined by the shackles of scientific knowledge. On the other hand, who is more likely to...
Collections
Claes Johansson
Natural History Museums are often imagined to be traditional repositories of historical collections. They continue to draw millions of visitors each year and are family favorites owing to the weird and wonderful collections. These museums remain...