Creating Connections: Museums and the Public Understanding of Current Research
Author(s): David Chittenden (Editor), Graham Farmelo (Editor), Bruce V. Lewenstein (Editor)
Publisher: AltaMira Press (UK)
Publication Date: 17 May 2004
Language: English
Print length: 400 pages
ISBN-10: 0759104751
ISBN-13: 9780759104754
Book Description
Science museums are in the business of making science accessible to the public—a public constantly bombarded with new information and research results. How the public understands this information will affect what they expect and take away from a museums exhibits and programs. Creating Connections looks at the public understanding of research (PUR) and how it affects what science museums do. What are the opportunities and critical issues in PUR? What strategies are working and what are some pitfalls? What can be learned from the medias experiences with PUR? Creating Connections will be an invaluable resource for science museum professionals who want to guide their institutions and their visitors toward a new understanding of and appreciation for current research.
Editorial Reviews
Review
The writing and editing in this compilation is excellent. . . Creating Connections is a useful, well-written book. I recommend it
The writing and editing in this compilation is excellent. . . Creating Connections is a useful, well-written book. I recommend ittttt
This volume contains essays from a 2002 conference, “Museums, Media, ad the Public Understanding of Research―An International Working Conference”…The book gives some sense of the breadth and intensity of the discussions, as well as providing a rich and diverse collection of papers on a central issue for science museums. — George E. Hein
Creating Connections is a rigorous theoretical work that is both clear and stimulating. It will be of particular value to curators who want to reflect on exhibitions presenting developments in research, while stimulating researchers in the sociology of science, citizenship education, epistemology and ethics.
About the Author
John H. Falk is executive director of the Institute for Learning Innovation and Sea Grant Professor Emeritus of Free-Choice Learning at Oregon State University. He is known internationally for his work in the area of free-choice learning; the learning that occurs while visiting museums, science centers, zoos, aquariums, parks, watching educational television or surfing the internet for information. His recent research has focused on studying the long-term impacts of free-choice learning institutions; understanding why people utilize free-choice learning settings during their leisure time and helping cultural institutions of all kinds re-think their future positioning and business models in the 21st century. Dr. Falk has authored over two hundred scholarly articles and chapters and has published more than a dozen books in this and related areas.
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