Class 15: Science in museums

Continuing our series of classes on the media of science communication, today we discussed - and experienced - science as it is presented in museums. While your handout (on WebCT) and the reading for this week (chapter 8 of Gregory and Miller 1998) give you some idea of the history of museums, helping us to understand the background to the format and the development of science centres, in our visit to the Science Museum we tried to concentrate on questions of exhibitions as constructed spaces.

We looked round two galleries: Making of the Modern World (ground floor), and Energy - fuelling the future (2nd floor). (Note that both have extensive websites attached to them, which can be used independently of the galleries - an interesting development in itself.) The galleries use very different styles, at least at first glance: MMW is object-heavy; while Energy contains very few objects but lots of computer-based interactives. We tried not to simply experience the galleries as a given - as we often do when wandering around museums - but to think critically about the effects they had and how these were created. In particular we considered what audience the gallery was designed for, how it was structured and laid out (and why), and how science was presented. In other words, we thought about the galleries as made for a particular purpose.

Opinion differed on both galleries: to some, Energy was 'gimmicky' while MMW was overwhelming in the mass of objects it presented. In our discussion afterwards, we touched on funding (how often are galleries updated, and where does the money come from?), purpose (are science museums there to present history, highlight contemporary science, or help people learn for themselves?), and the differences between visiting a science museum and an art gallery.

One final thought that we didn't get chance to discuss: should controversial science be presented in museums, and how could this be done?