Idea Colliders: The Future of Science Museums

Description

A provocative call for the transformation of science museums into “idea colliders” that spark creative collaborations and connections. Today's science museums descend from the Kunst-und Wunderkammern of the Renaissance—collectors' private cabinets of curiosities—through the Crystal Palace exhibition of 1851 to today's “interactive” exhibits promising educational fun. In this book, Michael John Gorman issues a provocative call for the transformation of science museums and science centers from institutions dedicated to the transmission of cultural capital to dynamic “idea colliders” that spark creative collaborations and connections. This new kind of science museum would not stage structured tableaux of science facts but would draw scientists into conversation with artists, designers, policymakers, and the public. Rather than insulating visitors from each other with apps and audio guides, the science museum would consider each visitor a resource, bringing questions, ideas, and experiences from a unique perspective. Gorman, founder of the trailblazing Science Gallery, describes three scenarios for science museums of the future—the Megamuseum Mall, “the Cirque de Soleil of the science museum world”; the Cloud Chamber, a local space for conversations and co-creation; and the invisible museum, digital device-driven informal science learning. He discusses hybrids that experiment with science and art and science galleries that engage with current research, encouraging connection, participation and surprise. Finally, he identifies ten key shifts in the evolution of science museums, including those from large to small, from interactive to participatory, from enclosed to porous, and from subject-specific to cross-disciplinary. Contents Acknowledgments 1: The Edge Effect 2: Three Tales from the Future 1 The Megamuseum Mall 2 The Cloud Chamber 3 The Invisible Museum Zeppelins and Airplanes Science Festivals The Maker Movement Science Fairs and Competitions The New Science Storytelling Citizen Science 3: Rise of the Hybrids Art and Science Speculative Design Latour and the Exhibitionist Turn in STS Laboratorium New Spaces of Experimentation 4: Safe Sex in the Academic Realm: The Science Gallery Experiment Rethinking Science Gallery From Science on Top to Science on Tap Overcoming Skepticism Lab in the Gallery: Science in the Making Constraints A Place for Conversation Futures on Display Spawning the Global Science Gallery Network WINDOWS Ten Shifts: Redefining Cultural Institutions 5: The Biological Turn 6: Piercing the Filter Bubble: Science Museums and Social Capital 7: From Incubators to Idea Colliders Notes Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6