Dismantling Silos: Academia, Industry, and a Science Museum Working Together

Blue, yellow, fluorescent lighting, computer terminals in every corner, exhibits resembling a Fisher Price toy or a wooden building kit—museums and science centres nowadays appear to be a cross between a computer technology exhibition and a child's dream of a playground. They reflect many of the efforts that are currently being devoted to making science and technology interesting for the younger generation, the one that will give rise to the scientists and engineers of the future. But also as science and technology increasingly impact on society, the 'shelf‐life' of formal education is becoming shorter and informal lifelong learning is becoming more important. The result is a flurry of activities instigated by politicians, scientists and educators to bring science to the people and increase their understanding. National Science Week, science buses touring the countryside and visitor days in research institutes are just a few examples of how they are reaching out to the public and, importantly, to the next generation of students. Museums and science centres form a prominent base for the communication of science, but despite their comparatively long history, the art of exhibiting science is relatively in its infancy. Dating back to the late 19th century, museums were then the theme parks of the day and important collections have been amassed in such mighty institutions as London's Science Museum, Munich's Deutsches Museum, the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington and the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Particularly during the last decade, the USA has pioneered the creation of more informal interactive science centres, most famously with the Exploratorium in San Francisco in 1969. Today, virtually every major American city boasts its own version, some 300 in all. Europe has also witnessed a similar trend, to the extent that the distinction between museums and science centres …

The science and technology centers and museums have been little studied under an architectural point of view. This kind of institution is focused on the experience and phenomena, rather than on objects. There are specific institutions related to such museums, especially the CIMUSET / ICOM, ASTC, ECSITE and ABCMC. Since they appeared in the 1930s, the science centers are important agents of change in the museum field. The equivalent, in science museums, of the aesthetic experience of art museums is the experience of the process of science. The aims of a science center are: educational, scientific dissemination, discussion and participation, social, motivation, leisure, urban impact. Their main public is schools and families. The Internet, virtual reality and other new technologies have great impact on museums. The interactivity with objects is not a sufficient condition for learning. It takes deeper levels of interactivity and social interactions for learning to take place. Interactive models in science centers are the equivalent to the original objects in the traditional museums collections. The human mediation is the most appropriate form of dialogue between the institution and the visitor, but there are other ways. There are several ways of exhibit the collection at science centers. The routes in a museum may be linear or episodic. The idea of the museum was born several centuries ago, but the modern museum appeared in the eighteenth century, and became a new functional architectural typology. Science museums can be divided into three generations. Its origins are linked to universal expositions. Montaner presents a classification of contemporary museums in eight typologies. The essence of architecture may be the interior space, as for Zevi, or the structure, as for Frampton, or even other aspects. Lynch presents the important concepts of readability and imageability of the city. If they area considerably imageable, buildings may become landmarks. The study of patterns of visitation are required if one wants to design adequate science and technology centers and museums. The dissertation included the study of several institutions, mainly with an architectural view.

The National Science and Technology Museum of Taiwan Jui-Chen Yu (bio) The idea of building a science museum in southern Taiwan first surfaced in 1979. Since Kaohsiung was a modern industrialized city, the central government of the Republic of China, with the support of the city government, chose it as the site for a national museum that would introduce scientific concepts and technological development. Construction of an exhibition building began in 1989, and the National Science and Technology Museum was formally opened on 9 November 1997. The largest science museum in Taiwan (occupying a base area of 19 hectares and a floor area of 114,355 square meters) the museum is under the supervision of the Ministry of Education, which funds its operating costs. Hence, although the museum is located in southern Taiwan, it serves the whole island. Two factors account for the increasing popularity of contemporary science museums: first, the rapid development of science and technology, and the increasing complexity of technological innovations; second, an increase in the number of people seeking learning opportunities outside of school. 1 Technological complexity already makes many people think science is incomprehensible and technology frightening, but their impact on our lives and society is too obvious to ignore. The response of formal education to societal needs is, as always, unfortunately slow. On the other hand, science museums, as informal learning places with rich collections, interactive exhibits, and interesting activities, begin to play an important role in promoting technological literacy for all citizens. The twentieth century has been characterized by changes of unparalleled rate and scale, in which the rapid development of technology has been a major factor. The impacts of technology on human beings can be found in every aspect of life: agricultural productivity has increased through the [End Page 107] use of machines and fertilizers, modern genetics has helped to increase the natural variability within plant species, plastics can be designed to have a wide variety of properties for different uses, from automobile and space vehicle parts to food packaging and fabrics to artificial hip joints. 2 As D. M. Baird points out, technology has brought a great many benefits for people, but it also bears with it great responsibility and a measure of risk. 3 Nuclear energy offers tremendous potential for power generation and beneficial applications, but how can we be sure that it will be used safely and its waste products disposed of properly? How do we guarantee the safety of those who handle nuclear materials? It is clear that scientific and technological literacy must increase for the whole population. Technology is truly global in its impact, and educators are gaining wider recognition in countries around the world as people realize the value of improving the technological literacy of the general public. Although people are becoming aware of the need for technological literacy, schools have not always been effective in applying formal education to offer good instruction in science and technology. Rigid teaching methods have often stifled the natural curiosity of young students, and schools are too frequently lacking in the facilities needed to teach science and technology, limiting opportunities to learn from personal experience and observation. This is where informal education comes in, to support and supplement formal education where necessary. A technology museum is basically a treasure house for communicating information about technology in many different ways. Silverstone describes it as a unique medium. 4 Like other media, it offers entertainment while communicating information and building interest among the public. On the other hand, it is different from other media in that it offers a setting—the building in which it is located—as well as stimulating graphics and text for the viewer. The museum building provides space for the display of instruments and materials used in science and technology, and it can even give people a chance to literally get their hands on technology and experience it, to both read about it and get to know it firsthand. If collections are the heart of museums, education is the spirit. Museums offer a totally different learning environment from schools, one that can stimulate the imagination and broaden the powers of observation. 5 A good [End Page 108...

In this article, environmental and climate practices in science and natural history museums in Türkiye are presented and discussed. While environmental and climate problems are global issues, they have local roots. As environmental issues are related to human activities and museums play a societal role, it is important to examine practices and approaches of museums in relation to the environment. Operations and practices of natural history and science museums in Türkiye, including educational activities, are important elements in communicating the risks of vulnerable environmental issue. This study outlines the environmental practices of the science and natural history museums of Türkiye which are commonly accepted as reliable providers of information to engage with audiences for action towards environmental challenges. Documentary research was conducted for the study. When the environmental practices and approaches are reviewed, it is seen that natural history museums function basically as research areas. Still, they have public education roles and organize educational activities about natural history, biodiversity and environment. While public education is one of the roles of natural history museums besides their conventional functions like collecting, conserving, researching and exhibiting, science centers are institutions dedicated to public education. Since science centers are mostly supported by municipalities, it can be said that they operate in a more sustainable and holistic way. Also, it is seen that their environmental reach-out programs offer a wider range. Based on data, we claim that collaboration with municipalities has an effect on the environmental activities and perspectives of museums. Also, climate-context works encourage museum community to make interdisciplinary works across the world. By presenting the current environmental and climate practices in natural history and science museums in Türkiye, it is aimed that the article can provide collaboration among institutions and advance the discussions among museums in the context of environment and climate.

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.

In the last decade there has been growing interest in Europe concerning the role that science centers and museums play in the governance of science. Science centers, in fact, have the potential to be one of the most effective platforms for the discussions and debates that enable citizens to inform and participate in the democratic development of science.1 Exhibitions and programs often offer learning opportunities and resources on the ethical, legal and social issues of scientific research in contemporary science and technology. Citizen science programs, science cafes, workshops, discussions and festivals are just a few examples of the wide variety of programs and activities in this direction that have emerged in the field. Two of the largest museums in Europe, the Science Museum and the Natural HistoryMuseum, both in London, went so far as to build whole new facilities for this purpose: the Dana Centre at the Science Museum and Darwin Centre at the Natural History Museum have been established precisely with the goal of creating dialogue opportunities among visitors and between visitors and the scientists, researchers, museum staff and other players in the many fields in which these museums are active. Many other European science centers and museums include similar activities intheir programs and exhibitions; nowadays, it is virtually impossible to find a science center which is not active in the field of science engagement, opening up mechanisms and opportunities for their visitors not only to learn about science and technology, but to “play a role” in the ways science and technology are shaping our society. Projects funded since the late 1990s by the European Commission have seen sciencecenters and museums developing a variety of activities to tackle the most important issues and topics in the “science in society” agenda: from gender gap to responsible research, from climate change to stem cells to nanotechnology. In parallel, significant attention is given to participatory approaches and methodologies for the publicengagement with science at meetings for practitioners and scholars in the field, such as the annual Ecsite conference.2

Through a partnership between the NSF-funded Material Research Science and Engineering Center, Center for Nanoscale Science, at Penn State University and Philadelphia's science museum The Franklin Institute the "Nano-Bio: Zoom in on Life!" program has been produced and distributed to 20 science and children museums in the United States and one science museum in Canada. Distributed shows include the materials needed to perform the demonstration, supplies for a year and additional information including educational materials and a training video. This cart based program includes interactive demonstrations that highlight processes in the human body that occur at the nanoscale and how scientists are exploring natural processes to develop new nanotechnology and nanomaterials. This show is the second in a series of collaborations to create programs for the informal science education world. A development team including Penn State University faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and Franklin Institute staff worked over two years to develop the show. Instrumental in the development were graduate students who were part of a jointly run Penn State-Franklin Institute NSF-funded Internships in Public Science Education (IPSE) program. These science education graduate students helped create, test, and enhance the demonstrations for the Zoom in on Life program.

Science centers have become more popular since the 20th century. As the National Science and Technology Museum in Taiwan renews its exhibits, a brand new exhibit, Open Sesame: Science Exploration Center work out its new approach to integrate school curriculum into museum exhibitions. The new 9-year integrated curriculum focuses on life experience and emphasizes interdisciplinary integration. For teachers, it's difficult to find that kind of teaching resources; therefore, it becomes the obstacle of curriculum reform. Will the exhibit addressing new curriculum become a solution for teachers and students? The Science museum, students and school curriculum are the three main factors. This article analyzes the relationship between these three factors and generalizes three principles for this new exhibition. 1.Be curriculum-related and interdisciplinary integration 2.Be attractive and hands-on exhibit units 3.Build an immersive learning environment to bring out the museum educational function Concept design is the most difficult part for building a new exhibition. After lots of discussions and debates, ”Open Sesame: Science Exploration Center” includes six themes: Doors of Science, Up the Mountain, Medical Treatment, Telecommunication, Trial and Error and Cars on the Road. Each theme has an interactive atmosphere for students to discover and investigate science. Instead of organizing by curriculum subjects, such as electronics, sound and light, we decided to present science and technology using examples from our daily life. We believe this may be a real solution for teachers and students to face the new 9-year integrated curriculum.

There is a growing commitment within science centres and museums to deploy computer‐based exhibits to enhance participation and engage visitors with socio‐scientific issues. As yet, however, we have little understanding of the interaction and communication that arises with and around these forms of exhibits, and the extent to which they do indeed facilitate engagement. In this paper, we examine the use of novel computer‐based exhibits to explore how people, both alone and with others, interact with and around the installations. The data are drawn from video‐based field studies of the conduct and communication of visitors to the Energy Gallery at London’s Science Museum. The paper explores how visitors transform their activity with and around computer‐based exhibits into performances, and how such performances create shared experiences. It reveals how these performances can attract other people to become an audience to an individual’s use of the system and subsequently sustain their engagement with both the performance and the exhibit. The observations and findings of the study are used to reflect upon the extent to which the design of exhibits enables particular forms of co‐participation or shared experiences, and to develop design sensitivities that exhibition managers and designers may consider when wishing to engender novel ways of engagement and participation with and around computer‐based exhibits.

As long ago as 2001, the director of the Science Museum of Virginia, Richmond, USA, in an article for ASTC Dimensions, described his institution as a “community powerhouse.” He rightly pointed out that science museums and science centers have many roles to play in serving their communities, many of which can only be fulfilled through “outreach.” Outreach is capable of many definitions, but one which applies well here is “any systematic effort to provide unsolicited and predefined help to groups or individuals deemed to need it.” This is not a new form of education: as early as 1891, the “science demonstrator” to the Birmingham School Board in England had adopted an outreach program which circulated science teaching equipment and samples to schools in a handcart. The motivation, then as now, was to provide resources where they were most needed – economically and efficiently and in a timely manner. Science museums and science centers embraced outreach from their early years. Museum loans of natural history specimens to schools were common during the twentieth century, and early-established science centers like the Ontario Science Centre were taking programs to remote areas (and, in the specific case of OSC, education programs for students and teachers in the schools for Canadian Forces based in Germany). In the succeeding years, the reasons for conducting science museum outreach have become more subtle. A process which may have begun as a profile-building exercise or for meeting a resource deficit has evolved into a developed sense of responsibility for promoting community engagement – in ways that are similarly practiced by orchestras, football teams, opera houses, and theater companies. Such engagement may be socially motivated (e.g., in using outreach programs to promote social cohesion) or driven by a wish to take science directly to the public. An important element in science museum outreach activity is engagement with the formal education system through visits to primary and, less frequently, to secondary high schools. Examples from around the world are now chosen to illustrate the various methods and motivations for delivering outreach programs from science museums and science centers. The broadcast media and online activity are excluded from this account, as they are treated separately elsewhere. The Shell Questacon Science Circus claims to be “recognised as the most extensive and longest running touring science centre outreach program in the world.” Using a large vehicle and a team of presenters, it offers school shows, professional development for teachers, a traveling science center for the community, and extension activities for senior high school students. This is a model which has been adopted worldwide and indeed was being used, e.g., by the Ontario Science Centre, as early as 1971. The Australian science circus has another purpose; however, it is a core component of the training of future science communication professionals who are following a Master’s program at the Australian National University, Canberra. It has also undertaken an “ambassadorial” visit to China. Science on the move, using vehicles ranging in size from caravans to tractor-hauled multi-wheel trailers can now be found on every continent. Heureka, the Finnish science center, has even offered science shows on cruise ships in the Baltic. PROMUSIT is the traveling museum program from MCT-PUCRS, the interactive Museum of Science and Technology run by the Catholic University of

AIChE JournalVolume 41, Issue 4 p. 991-995 Protein Solution Thermodynamic Partitioning of proteins using two-phase aqueous surfactant systems C.-L. Liu, C.-L. Liu Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Center for Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139Search for more papers by this authorY. J. Nikas, Y. J. Nikas Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Center for Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139Search for more papers by this authorD. Blankschtein, Corresponding Author D. Blankschtein Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Center for Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Center for Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139Search for more papers by this author C.-L. Liu, C.-L. Liu Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Center for Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139Search for more papers by this authorY. J. Nikas, Y. J. Nikas Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Center for Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139Search for more papers by this authorD. Blankschtein, Corresponding Author D. Blankschtein Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Center for Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Center for Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139Search for more papers by this author First published: April 1995 https://doi.org/10.1002/aic.690410429Citations: 28AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume41, Issue4April 1995Pages 991-995 RelatedInformation

This article deals with a pioneering project currently being developed, namely, the Exhibition on Testing and Measurement. This interactive traveling exhibition will be presented in science museums in Israel, the United States, and other countries. It has been conceived as an innovative means of familiarizing the public with educational measurement concepts and scientific principles. The exhibition will initiate and encourage a dialogue regarding the social aspects of testing. Science centers and museums can play a vital role in helping to forge a more authentic relationship between science and society. Presenting an exhibition on testing and measurement in a science museum is an excellent way to engage the public in a discussion on the benefits and risks of measurement in our society. In this article we discuss the opportunities that this exhibition offers the challenges of converting theory into interactive exhibits, the feedback received thus far, and the current status of the exhibition.

Science centers and museums provide opportunities for informal science education. However, their presentation of chemistry is sparse. The successful presentation of chemistry to the public relies on the illustration of the relationship between molecular structure and the properties of familiar materials. A survey of the use and portrayal of polymers in science museums as educational resources identifies a number of successful programs. The suggestion is made that exhibits concentrating on polymers will serve to present chemistry to a broad audience in a manner that is both entertaining and educational.

International Journal for Numerical Methods in EngineeringVolume 11, Issue 1 p. 185-190 Short Communication Least square and Galerkin finite element solution of flow past a flat plate G. Venkateswara Rao, G. Venkateswara Rao Space Science and Technology Centre, Trivandrum, India Engineer, Structural Engineering Division.Search for more papers by this authorK. Kanaka Raju, K. Kanaka Raju Space Science and Technology Centre, Trivandrum, India Scientist, Physics and Applied Mathematics Division.Search for more papers by this authorN. Muthiyalu, N. Muthiyalu Space Science and Technology Centre, Trivandrum, India Engineer, Structural Engineering Division.Search for more papers by this authorJ. Venkataramana, J. Venkataramana Space Science and Technology Centre, Trivandrum, India Engineer, Structural Engineering Division.Search for more papers by this author G. Venkateswara Rao, G. Venkateswara Rao Space Science and Technology Centre, Trivandrum, India Engineer, Structural Engineering Division.Search for more papers by this authorK. Kanaka Raju, K. Kanaka Raju Space Science and Technology Centre, Trivandrum, India Scientist, Physics and Applied Mathematics Division.Search for more papers by this authorN. Muthiyalu, N. Muthiyalu Space Science and Technology Centre, Trivandrum, India Engineer, Structural Engineering Division.Search for more papers by this authorJ. Venkataramana, J. Venkataramana Space Science and Technology Centre, Trivandrum, India Engineer, Structural Engineering Division.Search for more papers by this author First published: 1977 https://doi.org/10.1002/nme.1620110118Citations: 5 AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume11, Issue11977Pages 185-190 RelatedInformation

REMEMBER THE MOBRO—“MANAGING URBAN WASTES” AT THE CHICAGO MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY SUELLEN HOY When the exhibit “Managing Urban Wastes” opened in November 1986 at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, who would have thought that four months later a single tugboat-drawn barge out of New York would capture the attention of the nation? Yet it did. A homeless scow, in search of a place to unload 3,100 tons of baled refuse, traveled down the Atlantic Coast and across the Gulfof Mexico only to be rejected by six states and three countries. This “garbage without a country” immediately became material for comedians and newspeople, and a New Yorker cartoon caught the mood by picturing two rats aboard the Mobro remarking, one to the other: “In your wildest dreams, did you ever think you’d one day be cruising the Gulf of Mexico?”1 But as the odyssey continued, the nation turned serious. The garbage scow became a Paul Revere sounding “an alarm about an imminent threat to American life posed by the vast tonnage of waste the nation produces.” And, warned the New York Times editorial: “It dare not be forgotten.”2 While individuals responsible for managing urban wastes hope Americans are more conscious of the garbage problem because of the barge, they fear that many will soon forget. Among those who handle waste, it is common knowledge that the most popular policy has long been out of sight, out of mind. This view is well reflected in the words of a woman responding to a question about a proposed recycling program: “Why do we need to change anything? I put my garbage out on the sidewalk and they take it away.”3 The Museum of Science Dr. Hoy is with the Department of American Studies, University of Notre Dame. •Russell Baker, “So Far to Ithaca,” New York Times, April 28, 1987, p. 31; New Yorker, May 11, 1987, p. 33. 2Editorial, “A Garbage Scow as Paul Revere,” New York Times, May 23, 1987. 3Philip Shabecoff, “With No Room to Dump, U.S. Faces a Garbage Crisis,” New York Times, June 29, 1987, p. 11.© 1988 by the Society for the History of Technology. All rights reserved. 0040-165X/88/2902-0007$01.00 271 272 Suelten Hoy and Industry exhibit addresses this woman and others like her by demonstrating in a variety of ways the central problem in the man­ agement of solid wastes—everything has to go somewhere. “Managing Urban Wastes” is in one of Chicago’s most frequently visited museums. Located in the reconstructed Palace of Fine Arts Building of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, the Museum of Science and Industry bills itself as “the world’s largest and most pop­ ular center of contemporary science and technology.” It may very well be. What seemsforever true (the impression comes from a number of visits over a thirty-year period) is that the place is always lively. The activity and the movement emanate from the museum’s engaging electronic exhibits as well as from the enthusiastic crowds who visit. Not only is it open every day of the year, there are no admission or parking fees. So, in order to make a point to a large audience, Waste Management, Inc., of Oak Brook, Illinois, donated $600,000 to the museum for a permanent exhibit of 2,500 square feet. “Managing Urban Wastes” can be found on the path to the mu­ seum’s main temporary exhibition not far from the front entrance. Divided into six sections, it begins with the “History of Urban Wastes.” Through fifteen panels of photographs and drawings that trace prac­ tices in handling urban wastes in ancient, preindustrial, industrial, and modern times, viewers become visually acquainted with an old problem. They are introduced to several important technologies and individuals who demonstrated how a clean environment leads to a healthier one. An audiotape briefly, but colorfully, describes some major developments in this long struggle. An audiovisual presentation shows how archaeologists are studying garbage to discover how Amer­ icans have lived and what they have valued over time. As a University of Arizona archaeologist observes: “The American dream is alive...