Mind the Gap

Abstract

While science museums may certainly be viewed as bridging institutions between science and society, their full civic potential is yet to be realized. As trusted, nonpartisan intermediary organizations and valued cultural institutions, museums and science centers are well positioned to frame important problems for productive public deliberation, and they may be uniquely equipped to help cultivate creative connections between policymakers, scientists and the general public. In an age when an increasing number of pressing public problems are marbled with scientific or technical complexity, the need to bridge the confounding gaps that exist between science and public life is more urgent than ever. Because they hold public trust as nonpartisan cultural centers, museums can impact civic issues on wide-scales without becoming politicized, and thus promote improved public problem-solving around vexing problems such as climate change, our energy future, and twenty-first century workforce development.