I could not find the article on the The Philadelphia Inquirer website, I was wondering if someone who did could post the link or the article to the list.
Given that, and the fact that I have not been to The Franklin (whatever name it has gone under) in kind of a long time, I cannot speak to this particular example, but is it really true that science centers are being dumbed down or is this just one of those narratives with enough truthiness to make knowing heads nod in agreement and disappointment?
I know we could all site examples of this dumbing down. More commercial exhibits, more pop culture characters, iMax movies showing more popular fare and less educational films. There is certainly a trend here. But on the other hand I have been going to Science Centers and museums pretty steadily since the Maryland Science Center opened in the 1970's and I and many other people I know have noticed an increase in the overall science content in science centers. Yes there might be a Star Wars exhibit in one gallery, but in another there is some pretty high end stuff on Risk or Women's Health. More science centers invest more in adult education than I can ever remember before not only in exhibitions but also in trips, workshops, and even discussions of ethics and evolution. Science centers have exhibits and work shops in current science and findings. More and more science centers are hiring or working directly with scientists of all stripes. Many science centers and museums are "unpacking" science as a process through labs, digs, and other participatory activities.
Again, I am not saying there aren't "dumb" things happening in science centers that feed this meme. But on balance? Considering all of the public offerings of a given science center? I don't think so. I can remember when science centers would balance a beach ball on a blow dryer smack a label that simply identified the Bernoulli Effect and called it a day. Science Center, by and large, don't do that anymore. They provide context, explanation, and personal demonstrations.
Can anyone prove this one way or another? I know there are methods of tracking reading levels of print over time, has anyone done a study of exhibition content over time and can actually demonstrate a decline or increase in science content.
I also apologize if this has been covered in this or another forum before. I have been out of direct employment of museum or science center in some time, so maybe this row has been hoed. If so, point me to a reference and I will shut up.
Thanks for your attention.
Matthew White
Former museum
professional and current PhD student
History of Science
University of Florida
On Tuesday, July 29, 2008, at 09:51AM, "Paul Orselli" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>The Philadelphia Inquirer recently published a biting article and commentary about the rebranding and subsequent "dumbing down" of "The Franklin" (formerly The Franklin Institute Science Museum.)
>
>Although the columnist was writing about her hometown museum, her comments could easily describe the situation elsewhere in the (science) museum biz.
>
>Link to article and commentary via the ExhibiTricks blog: <http://blog.orselli.net>
>
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