Visitors' Interest in Science

This post summarises a number of studies that have looked at visitors' interest in science. It is not a complete reference set: there is a huge literature on the public understandings of science, but probably less so on their interest and excitement over it, which is what these studies explored.

Little understanding/awareness that scientific research happens at museums
Natural history is an area of interest: that is, an interest in nature/wildlife documentaries on TV more so than active interest in anthropology or paleontology
Interested in the scientists' personal stories: how did they get interested? What turns them on?
Interest in what scientists actually do and how they do it
Need to have the human factor – people to talk to about their research
Show real life images: scientists getting down and getting dirty
See scientists as real people doing stuff, not locked away in a lab
Important for children to have role models and to see that they can make a difference
Need to make it relevant to the person (visitor): how does it affect me?
Need to be taken from familiar to unfamiliar concepts (constructivist learning approach)
People imagine that providing ‘scientific’ information will be boring, and text-based
Need to explain in clear, but not overly complex ways, the whole discovery and recreation process through using diagrammatic and visual representations – text is important but should not be main method for communication
Negative aspects of science include its associations with laboratories and experiments; technological advancement which holds little interest for many people; school and thought to be too complex
While science and scientific methods were not of particular interest, how science has helped us to understand history was
Beauty of nature and conserving it can be a hook
Encouraging and stimulating childrens' interest in science seen as very important by parents

How does this relate to science at your museum?

Dr Lynda Kelly , Manager Online, Editing and Audience Research
Last Updated: 16 September 2009

Australian Museum

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