Science Museums and Societal Collapse: A Call for Action Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic (Poster 48)

• In Event: Saturday Poster Sessions 7:45 am
  In Poster Session: Informal Learning Research Poster Session

Abstract

This paper examines how science museums responded to the pandemic through online initiatives that sought public engagement with this complex issue. Informed by literature about generations of science museums and museums and Covid-19, we specifically looked to understand what online education and communication programs tell us about the contemporary social roles of these institutions. As such, we focused on case studies represented by the online programming of three science museums in Brazil, Canada and the U.S.: the Museu do Amanhã (Rio de Janeiro), the Royal BC Museum (Victoria), and the Museum of Science (Boston). The thematic analysis revealed renewed institutional values related to empathy, compassion and mindfulness. It also unravelled fourth generation commitments with allyship, epistemic democracy, and social transformation.

Authors

• Ana Maria Navas Iannini, Simon Fraser University

• Erminia G. Pedretti, University of Toronto - OISE