Science centers and museums have shared values and goals, but they differ in their approach to engagement. Museums have qualitative stories that talk about relationships and experiences, while science centers focus on quantitative stories that promote building science capital or opening up pathways towards STEM careers. Experts suggest that both sectors should collaborate to tell meaningful stories that build confidence, agency, diversity, belonging, and trust in society.
Experts believe that interdisciplinary and intersectional perspectives are necessary to engage audiences with big issues, such as environmental crises and societal inequalities. A funding program called Mindsets + Missions has been launched to bring together changemakers from both sectors to support this.
Finally, experts suggest that museums and science centers have different approaches to storytelling that can be combined to enable everyone to feel that their spaces, collections, and exhibits are relevant to them. Collaboration is key to removing barriers and better engaging with people, particularly communities that have been historically excluded, so they can fully participate in museums and science centers.
What Can Science Centres and Museums Learn From Each Other?
Inclusive, participatory, and sustainable practices are common goals shared by museums and science centers. However, they approach engagement differently, and there is much that they can learn from each other.
One of the areas in which they differ is the type of stories they tell. Museums have qualitative stories that talk about relationships and experiences, while science and discovery centers focus on quantitative stories that promote building science capital or opening up pathways towards Stem careers. Experts suggest that science engagement should be valued equally alongside arts and heritage and that both sectors should collaborate to tell meaningful stories about building confidence, agency, diversity, belonging, and trust.
Another area where collaboration could be beneficial is in engaging audiences with big issues, such as environmental crises and societal inequalities. Experts believe that interdisciplinary and intersectional perspectives are necessary to tell more complex and representative stories. To support this, the Museums Association and the Association for Science and Discovery Centres have launched a funding program called Mindsets + Missions to bring together changemakers from both sectors.
Finally, museums and science centers have different approaches to storytelling. Museums use objects in their collections to engage audiences, while science centers focus on experimentation and play to illustrate scientific ideas and theories. Experts suggest that both approaches can be combined to enable everyone in society to feel that their spaces, collections, and exhibits are relevant to them. Collaboration is key to removing barriers and better engaging with people, particularly communities that have been historically excluded, so they can fully participate in museums and science centers.
In conclusion, science centers and museums share many common values and goals, but there is much that they can learn from each other. Collaboration between the two sectors can help in building inclusive, participatory, and sustainable practices, engaging audiences with big issues, and using different approaches to storytelling to enable everyone to feel that they belong in these spaces.
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