The importance of science centres in attracting and engaging new and diverse audiences came under the spotlight at the Association of Science and Technology Centres conference, held in Florida in September.
Linda Conlon, the chief executive of Newcastle’s International Centre for Life, used her conference speech to highlight the importance of engaging refugees and migrants. She warned that science centres risked becoming obsolete if they failed to do this.
“We know that about 75%-80% of people who come are families with small children, and school kids, and we work hard to target people outside of that,” she says. “Teens, who are notoriously hard to reach, older people whose children have flown the nest and ethnic minorities don’t come because they don’t think science centres are for them.”
Conlon says the movement of people, by choice or otherwise, is changing the nature of communities around the world.
“As those communities change, we will get to a point where those that don’t come to science centres are in the majority, and those that do are in the minority,” she adds.
“It is not just a case of mass marketing, it isn’t a case of tell people and they will come. It is about investing in and nurturing relationships.”
Good relations
In August, the Wellcome Trust opened the £30m Inspiring Science Fund, co-funded by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, to support exactly this kind of work. The fund, which was called for by the Association of Science and Discovery Centres (ASDC), aims to support science centres and attractions to develop projects aimed at engaging more people in science, technology, engineering and maths, and broaden audiences among under-represented and under-served groups.
Penny Fidler, the chief executive of the ASDC, says it is crucial for centres to work with their local communities.
“I don’t think people from disadvantaged backgrounds won’t visit,” she says. “If it is done right, with trusted local partners and relevant content, they do come.”
Fidler points to projects such as Dundee Science Centre’s Golden Ticket scheme, which aims to build “science capital” with families from disadvantaged areas. Schools in the most deprived areas are given a “golden ticket” for a year, which enables any family with a child at that school to book a free family visit to the centre. In 2013, more than 2,000 families took part.
Building trust and confidence are vital to winning over the local community, says Stephen Breslin, the chief executive of Glasgow Science Centre.
“We have to go out and listen, so we understand the motivations of communities and their interests. Then we can create programmes that reflect that,” he says. “By going out there, we can say to people science centres are for you, and there are things you can use. If you build confidence and trust, you can invite the community in.”
Increasingly important
For Breslin, the major impact that science and technology has on our lives, and the rapid pace of change, makes understanding the subject ever more important.
“It will impact everyone, regardless of background, and it is our responsibility to engage the widest possible audience to understand the impact of that,” he adds.
Dublin’s Science Gallery, however, has taken the opposite route by narrowing its focus to the hard-to-reach 15- to 25-year-olds. This is reflected in the venue’s programming, marketing and 12pm to 8pm opening hours.
Programme manager Ian Brunswick says: “We seek to inspire young people at the point they are figuring out their identity, rather than educate.”
The Science Gallery, which is funded by government, Trinity College Dublin, private giving, foundations and grants, and its own income, offers free entry and a programme of events that bring together science and engineering with art.
“Some science centres are being put in a position where they are compensating for a lack of science awareness, and there is pressure for them to offer a fix,” says Brunswick. “That takes the focus off empowering and inspiring people.
“Science centres and museums can be platforms for people to create and express themselves through workshops and forums. That makes us a resource, and allows visitors to construct their own experience.”
Ian Brunswick will be speaking at the Museums Association conference in Glasgow (7-9 November). There will also be a tour of Glasgow Science Centre.
Linda Conlon, the chief executive of Newcastle’s International Centre for Life, used her conference speech to highlight the importance of engaging refugees and migrants. She warned that science centres risked becoming obsolete if they failed to do this.
“We know that about 75%-80% of people who come are families with small children, and school kids, and we work hard to target people outside of that,” she says. “Teens, who are notoriously hard to reach, older people whose children have flown the nest and ethnic minorities don’t come because they don’t think science centres are for them.”
Conlon says the movement of people, by choice or otherwise, is changing the nature of communities around the world.
“As those communities change, we will get to a point where those that don’t come to science centres are in the majority, and those that do are in the minority,” she adds.
“It is not just a case of mass marketing, it isn’t a case of tell people and they will come. It is about investing in and nurturing relationships.”
Good relations
In August, the Wellcome Trust opened the £30m Inspiring Science Fund, co-funded by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, to support exactly this kind of work. The fund, which was called for by the Association of Science and Discovery Centres (ASDC), aims to support science centres and attractions to develop projects aimed at engaging more people in science, technology, engineering and maths, and broaden audiences among under-represented and under-served groups.
Penny Fidler, the chief executive of the ASDC, says it is crucial for centres to work with their local communities.
“I don’t think people from disadvantaged backgrounds won’t visit,” she says. “If it is done right, with trusted local partners and relevant content, they do come.”
Fidler points to projects such as Dundee Science Centre’s Golden Ticket scheme, which aims to build “science capital” with families from disadvantaged areas. Schools in the most deprived areas are given a “golden ticket” for a year, which enables any family with a child at that school to book a free family visit to the centre. In 2013, more than 2,000 families took part.
Building trust and confidence are vital to winning over the local community, says Stephen Breslin, the chief executive of Glasgow Science Centre.
“We have to go out and listen, so we understand the motivations of communities and their interests. Then we can create programmes that reflect that,” he says. “By going out there, we can say to people science centres are for you, and there are things you can use. If you build confidence and trust, you can invite the community in.”
Increasingly important
For Breslin, the major impact that science and technology has on our lives, and the rapid pace of change, makes understanding the subject ever more important.
“It will impact everyone, regardless of background, and it is our responsibility to engage the widest possible audience to understand the impact of that,” he adds.
Dublin’s Science Gallery, however, has taken the opposite route by narrowing its focus to the hard-to-reach 15- to 25-year-olds. This is reflected in the venue’s programming, marketing and 12pm to 8pm opening hours.
Programme manager Ian Brunswick says: “We seek to inspire young people at the point they are figuring out their identity, rather than educate.”
The Science Gallery, which is funded by government, Trinity College Dublin, private giving, foundations and grants, and its own income, offers free entry and a programme of events that bring together science and engineering with art.
“Some science centres are being put in a position where they are compensating for a lack of science awareness, and there is pressure for them to offer a fix,” says Brunswick. “That takes the focus off empowering and inspiring people.
“Science centres and museums can be platforms for people to create and express themselves through workshops and forums. That makes us a resource, and allows visitors to construct their own experience.”
Ian Brunswick will be speaking at the Museums Association conference in Glasgow (7-9 November). There will also be a tour of Glasgow Science Centre.
