The contribution of museums to scientific literacy: views from audience and museum professionals

Abstract

The new goals outlined for museums in recent reports are in line with the efforts to improve the public's civic and practical scientific literacy. We have made a preliminary exploration of the potential of museums to provide information and experiences that the audience finds relevant in the context of science-related issues they encounter in their private or civic lives. We found that for a group of parents faced with the issue of radon in their children's school, two museums in Oslo were not seen as having such a function; neither did the parents expect museums to have such a role. Professionals from the two museums expressed similar attitudes. If this skepticism toward the new goals is widespread, museums face a great challenge concerning how to relate to the new goals. Based on our findings, we suggest some pertinent issues for future research.