ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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David, you mentioned that you're not sure how much we can get people to
"truly understand the world we live in" through visits to a science
center. I don't think we can deliver true understanding through any
number of visits to science centers or even through a lifetime of
studying science. But I also don't think that's the point.

I'll use a history museum analogy. If you or I go to a history museum,
we learn about what happened at this time or that, to these people or
those. But we didn't live then, and we aren't those people. So we'll
never truly understand the stories we hear, no matter how many times we
put our heads under a fake guillotine. The upside is that we learn to
look at the world with a new, broader perspective.

The same holds true for science museums/science centers, I think. I
don't think we can ever really explain, say, the Bernoulli principle, to
the point where we truly understand it. On the other hand, we can come
to understand first of all that an explanation exists, and we can begin
to see that there's more to the story. We might even be able to
understand the story on a deeper level - or a level sufficient to
discuss it at dinner parties or at lunch (if we're so inclined). To me,
that's what we're all about - broadening our views to consider more
possibilities and see our lives and the world through new lenses.

I've asked some questions on this listserv about how we are "proving"
that we are meaningful, value-added resources to schools. The more I ask
that question and seek answers to it, the more I realize that the
greatest value we may add is to get kids (and adults) to consider that
there might be another explanation, and therefore to look a little bit
deeper not only as pertains to matters of science, but also to life in
general. If we can get people to think, then we've truly made a
difference.

Bill

Bill Watson
Research Assistant, SCALE-uP
The George Washington University
Graduate School of Education and Human Development
Department of Teacher Preparation and Special Education
2134 G Street, NW
Washington, DC  20052
Phone: (202) 994-1171
Fax: (202) 994-0692

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