by Jameson Wetmore & Ira Bennett - Center for Nanotechnology in Society
Arizona State University, USA
There are approximately 300 science centers
in the United States. They range from two room centers in tiny towns to
enormous museums in Chicago and Boston. They vary widely from place to place,
but typically they have three goals: First, they try to relate basic scientific
facts so that the lay public can understand them. Second, they seek to inspire
young people to consider science and engineering as a career. And third, they
attempt to entertain so that families and children will want to return again
and again.
Because science and technology play an ever
increasingly important role in our daily lives, there is currently a movement
to add a fourth goal to the list. To be
an informed citizen one must not only follow the obvious social issues like
taxes, international relations, and heath care, but also the research and
technologies that shape our world. Understanding
the big bang theory or the ways that molecules interact might be able to assist
in this process, but perhaps even more important is an appreciation of the
variety of ways in which science and technology affect communities and vice
versa. As science centers are both trusted and one of the few places where the
general public actively engage science, they could provide a space for such
engagements.
