Creating Connections

Museums and the Public Understanding of Current Research

Foreword by Bill Nye Contributions by Marc Airhart, Sky, Carol Lynn Alpert, Eliene Augenbraun, Larry Bell, Rick Bonney, Rick Borchelt, Carol Bossert, Peter J. Bruns, Christine Cansfield-Smith, Sir Neil Chalmers, Cornelia Dean, Sally Duensing, John Durant, Albert A. Einsiedel, Edna F. Einsiedel, John H. Falk, Mark D. Hertle, Nancy Linde, Laura Martin, Heather Mayfield, Xerxes Mazda, Bill Nye, Chris Paola, Don Pohlman, Tim Radford, Larry Stewart, Rob Semper, Martin Storksdieck, David Ucko Edited by David Chittenden, Graham Farmelo, Bruce V. Lewenstein

Publication date:

17 May 2004

Length of book:

400 pages

Publisher

AltaMira Press

Dimensions:

236x147mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9780759104754

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 museum's 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 media's 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.

Part 1 Foreword
Part 2 Acknowledgments
Part 3 Introduction: Only Connect: Linking the Public with Current Scientific Research
Part 4 SECTION 1: ON THE HISTORY AND CHALLENGES OF PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF RESEARCH
Chapter 5 1. La buona e non mascherata filosofia, or the Exhibitionists
Chapter 6 2. The Challenge and the Opportunity of Presenting "Unfinished Science"
Part 7 SECTION 2: PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF RESEARCH: THE BIG OPPORTUNITIES AND ISSUES
Chapter 8 3. Different Ways of Looking at Public Understanding of Research
Chapter 9 4. Museums as Agora: Diversifying Approaches to Engaging Publics in Research
Chapter 10 5. Evaluating Public Understanding of Research Projects and Initiatives
Chapter 11 6. What About the Audiences?: Tailoring Public Understanding of Research Programs for Museum Visitors
Chapter 12 7. Dangerous Ground?: Public Engagement with Scientific Controversy
Chapter 13 8. Improving Public Understanding of Scientific Research: A View from the Research Side
Chapter 14 9. New Alliances to Promote the Public Understanding of Research
Chapter 15 10. Collaboration and the Public Understanding of Current Research
Chapter 16 11. Funding and Institutional Issues Related to Public Understanding of Research
Part 17 SECTION 3: SOME EMERGING PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF RESEARCH STRATEGIES AND APPROACHES
Chapter 18 12. Understanding the Process of Research
Chapter 19 13. Production Aspects of Promoting Public Understanding of Research
Chapter 20 14. Bridging the Gap: Interpreting Current Research in Museum Settings
Chapter 21 15. At the Cutting Edge: Showcasing Research Through a Public Exhibition Center
Chapter 22 16. Catching Science in the Act: The Mysteries of Çatalhöyük
Chapter 23 17. Public Understanding of Research in a Natural History Museum: The Darwin Centre
Part 24 SECTION 4: WHAT MUSEUMS CAN LEARN FROM MEDIA PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF RESEARCH INITIATIVES
Chapter 25 18. Emerging Best Practices at Research-Performing Institutions
Chapter 26 19. It's the Way You Tell 'Em
Chapter 27 20. Covering Science at the New York Times
Chapter 28 21. Nova: The Leading Edge
Chapter 29 22. Earth and Sky: Some Challenges of Communicating Scientific Research on the Radio
Chapter 30 23. Crossing the Public and Commercial Broadcasting Barriers
Part 31 Afterword: Not so Fast: Some Thoughts on Re-Visioning Public Understanding of Research
Part 32 Appendix: Background and Thoughts on Museums, Media and the Public Understanding of Research: An International Working Conference
Part 33 Bibliography for Public Understanding of Research
Part 34 Index
Part 35 About the Contributors

The writing and editing in this compilation is excellent. . . Creating Connections is a useful, well-written book. I recommend ittttt