Plenary: Creating the Future - The Role of Science Centres
New and rapidly evolving information technology can help science centres contribute to the cultivation of a more informed, creative population capable of meeting the challenges and reaping the benefits of life in the 21st century, said panellists at Monday morning’s plenary moderated by Linda Conlon, Director of the Centre for Life, Newcastle, United Kingdom. The challenge goes beyond integrating new technologies, however. It extends to adapting the messages to meet emerging generations’ need for involvement and engagement.
“If you listen carefully to what young people are saying, the message is they don’t just want to be consumers of other people’s stuff,” Dennis Bartels, Executive Director of the Exploratorium in San Francisco, United States, said. “They want to be actors on the stage, and that is one of the profound changes of this generation.”
Silvia Singer, Director of Museo Interactivo de Economía, Mexico City, Mexico, went even further. “Young people want to participate directly in the construction of knowledge, not just to absorb it, so that they’re better equipped to take leadership and provoke change. That’s why it’s important to create opportunities for people to express their own opinions and build their own content.”
If science centres don’t adapt, they run the risk of becoming obsolete, said Alan Brien, CEO of SciTech in Perth, Australia. “We have to move from a venue-focused viewpoint to embrace science solutions that support the formal education sector and promote science to the parts of the community that normally wouldn’t engage at all.” Science centres need to use their influence to work with the political structure, the science community, and the community at large to figure out ways to deliver better outcomes for society.
However, both panellists and conference delegates cautioned repeatedly that technology is just a tool and one that is unevenly distributed from country to country and community to community. “Technology isn’t the panacea; it’s just the tool of the moment, and it is not a tool available to everyone,” Singer said. “It allows us to connect and interact in new ways, but the richness still comes from people to people interactions.”
One delegate stressed that both the content and the form of science centres’ interactions with the public must be accessible. This means going beyond looking for new communications technology solutions and underscores the importance of creating relevant content. “There is a lack of alignment between the science and technology issues that are in the news and those we deal with at our science centres,” he said. “Whether it’s the geology, engineering, and psychology of natural disasters, famine in Ethiopia, overfishing of the oceans, or the have/have not divide of technology itself, science centres need to deal with the issues of importance to our societies.”
Download a PDF of the longer summary of this session.