ABSTRACT This article examines the opportunities for STEM learning in an anthropological gallery in a museum. This study focuses on family groups of children aged 2–5 years and their accompanying adults. The participants consisted of 15 families with young children visiting the gallery during regular opening hours. The data were collected through video-recorded observations and post-visit semi-structured interviews with the family groups, and semi-structured interviews with nine museum staff members from various teams. Specific episodes were selected for analysis based on their relevance to STEM-related themes, such as mathematical reasoning, scientific inquiry and problem-solving. We employ multimodal analysis to make sense of the data and draw on Activity Theory to explore families’ meaning-making processes, with a focus on children’s STEM learning. This study contributes to the growing recognition of the entanglement between human and non-human agencies. The findings demonstrate how non-human entities – artefacts, exhibits and gallery spaces – actively contribute to children’s STEM learning during museum visits. We also show how, in the absence of the gallery explicitly providing opportunities for STEM learning, some parents but not others were able to use the gallery’s resources to enable their young children to develop their STEM learning.

ABSTRACT Epistemic injustice remains underexplored in science museum contexts, particularly within the dynamics of visitor interactions. This focused case study investigates how epistemic injustice manifests during exhibit engagements, drawing on Cultural-Historical Activity Theory and a taxonomy of epistemic injustice. Using video and conversation recordings, and post-visit interviews at a science exhibit focused on viruses, bacteria, and public health, we illustrate how subtle forms of epistemic injustice manifest in visitor-exhibit interactions. Our findings reveal that visitors, and especially children, must navigate often conflicting roles as learners, family members, and research participants, frequently deferring to parental and institutional authority in ways that suggest epistemic injustice. We argue that the exhibit reinforces a deficit model of science communication by privileging institutional expertise and limiting opportunities for visitor sense-making. Finally, we reflect on the difficulties visitors face in articulating critique, emphasizing the role of epistemic power asymmetries between the exhibiting institution, researchers, and publics. This study suggests that exclusionary knowledge practices are enacted through moment-to-moment visitor-exhibit interactions. We advance a theoretico-methodological lens for understanding visitor experiences and advancing epistemic justice within museum studies and spaces: the synergy between the CHAT and epistemic injustice frameworks.

ABSTRACT In June 2024, Taylor Swift performed three sold-out nights at Dublin's Aviva Stadium. We pioneered a unique method of scientific engagement by designing a seismological campaign alongside her performances. We installed 42 temporary seismometers in 21 different locations around the concert venue so that we could record and compare the seismic impact of the concert with the national seismic network recordings. Our social and traditional media campaigns sparked significant public interest. Post-concert, we analysed seismic data and shared the findings with public audiences, inviting fans to contribute concert videos for seismic analysis. By examining social and traditional media output via methods such as Latent Dirichlet Allocation we have highlighted pop culture's potential to engage citizens and foster scientific understanding of cultural events.

ABSTRACT Augmented reality (AR) has the potential to be a powerful educational tool, but AR may not be equally effective for all students in all learning environments. We developed an AR experience focused on coral reef ecology at the high school level and deployed it at a public aquarium. We measured efficacy through evaluations of knowledge retention, attitude, and user perception. Overall, our results indicate significant improvement in all students’ knowledge, motivated attitudes, and positive perceptions of the technology’s use inside and outside the classroom when learning about fundamental concepts within coral reef ecology. Learning outcomes were significantly higher for boys, though sample sizes were small. Given that previous work has shown gender biases in students’ attitudes towards gamification, we hypothesize that certain aspects of the AR environment may have constrained girls’ learning outcomes from AR. We conclude that while subject attitude affects learning achievement from other sources, the inclusion of gamified AR mechanics arouses the interest and motivation of all student types in a similar manner regardless of prior subject preferences. Our study overall highlights the potential for AR to be an effective and engaging learning tool in informal educational environments.

ABSTRACT This study examines visitors' experiences at ‘The Lost Rhino' (TLR), a controversial exhibition hosted by the Natural History Museum (London), focusing on rhino conservation and the concept of de-extinction. The exhibition, which integrates art, science, and environmental issues, presents provocative topics - challenging visitors’ beliefs, values, and ethical considerations. Using mixed methods, we gathered data through surveys, interviews, and video recordings to explore how visitors experienced TLR and which features of controversial exhibitions they engaged with during their visit. Findings reveal that while most visitors did not initially perceive TLR as controversial, they experienced significant emotional responses, particularly sadness, and engaged in critical reflections on human impacts on biodiversity and the ethical implications of technological interventions in nature. This study contributes to understanding the role of museums in fostering public discourse on pressing controversial environmental issues and the potential for art-science exhibitions to provoke meaningful dialogue and reflection on conservation practices and the ethical dilemmas associated with de-extinction. We suggest that museum education should foster critical reflection, emotional engagement, and public dialogue on pressing local and global issues by integrating art, science, and ethics into thought-provoking exhibitions.

ABSTRACT What to say to the public about asteroid hazards and how to say it to them? In this article, we relate how our small professional research institution (Klet Observatory, Czech Republic), devoted specifically to Near-Earth Objects (NEOs), together with the educational branch (Ceske Budejovice Observatory and Planetarium, Czech Republic), has developed and implemented a comprehensive educational programme to communicate about our scientific activities. In the beginning of the 1990s, we started some NEO presentations just as a public outreach of Klet Observatory work and an explanation to taxpayers of the usefulness of such research. After thirty years of gaining experience, we understand that education of the wider public, students, journalists, emergency services and decision-makers on hazardous asteroids and planetary defence belongs to the most important tasks of NEO scientists and research institutions (Ticha, J., & Tichy, M. (2018). Klet observatory: 25 years of experience in NEO public education and communication. Journal of Space Safety Engineering, 5(3-4), 209–210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsse.2018.10.002). This paper presents a case study of NEO and asteroid hazard educational activities in South Bohemia, implemented through the Observatory and Planetarium in Ceske Budejovice, influenced by the long-term Klet NEO programme. We will also mention locally specific connections to NEOs and our future NEO education plans.

ABSTRACT This paper responds to the framework of learning outcomes and competencies proposed by Lewenstein and Baram-Tsabari [2022. How should we organize science communication trainings to achieve competencies? International Journal of Science Education, Part B, 12(4), 289–308. https://doi.org/10.1080/21548455.2022.2136985], which provides an excellent overview of the skills underpinning all aspects of science communication. In presenting the framework, Lewenstein and Baram-Tsabari note that several people during the ‘member check’ of their framework development raised that many items may be culturally specific to Western, democratic nations. This is familiar to the discipline, which tends to be dominated by the theory developed in the ‘Global North’. The authors reiterate – rightly – that users of the framework need to develop a curriculum based on the needs of their audience and their context. However, if the dominant theories of the field are from one cultural perspective, this limits the opportunity to develop curricula in a global context. Science communication is increasingly found at the interface of attempts to address global issues like climate change, pandemics, food security and energy transition. Global solutions require global insights, meaning science communication theory and best practice need to be drawn from – and valued – from a greater variety of sources than is current practice.

ABSTRACT Carefully designed evaluations of informal science events are key to gaining insights into their efficacy and impact on audiences. However, traditional approaches to evaluation, such as interviews and questionnaires, can be disruptive to the audience experience of science events. There is therefore a need to develop and implement new evaluation methods that match the dynamic and transient contexts of informal science events, and that are integrated into the experience of the event. In this article, we outline the development and implementation of a set of novel integrated evaluation methods used to evaluate performances of Lines of Best Fit, a science-themed improvised comedy show founded in Sydney, Australia. We outline the methods used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data from audiences at these events and provide reflections on the benefits and limitations of this approach based on our experiences of implementation across nine performances in different venues.

ABSTRACT The dissemination and acceptance of misinformation/disinformation and the denial of scientific claims and facts have become increasingly common practices in the post-truth era. The recent global pandemic has reaffirmed the importance of science communication (Sci-Comm) in a dialogical model that supports public engagement with science. Sci-Comm may promote scientific literacy by sharing knowledge and attitudes about science and is considered an important strategy for public engagement, but it requires evaluation based on participants’ motivations. This mixed-methods study examined middle school students’ subjective task values regarding Sci-Comm meetings with scientists. Seventh-grade students (N = 80) attended five meetings aligned with science curriculum topics. Based on the expectancy-value theory, students completed surveys assessing the meetings’ utility, attainment, and intrinsic value. Results showed that value ratings increased significantly across meetings, varying by topic. Qualitative themes highlighted meeting scientists, asking questions, and the interactive structure as valuable aspects. This research provides important insights into the current body of knowledge regarding the influential role of Sci-Comm within the expectancy-value theory framework. Additionally, it may guide educators and researchers in designing effective Sci-Comm sessions to increase student motivation and engagement in science, thereby enhancing the existing literature in science education and Sci-Comm.

ABSTRACT Citizen science is a promising field for research in climate change. It has also been recognised with great potential in the field of climate change education, especially in the increase of scientific knowledge and science process skills. The study aims to examine the contributions of citizen science to learning outcomes regarding climate change and the development of science skills. A mixed-methods approach involving a pretest, posttest, records inserted in the iNaturalist platform, semi-structured interviews with the researchers, and a questionnaire to iNaturalist users that validated the observations inserted by students, were applied to access students’ knowledge and development of science skills. Findings showed an improvement in scientific knowledge related to consequences of climate change, species identification and students’ development of science skills, such as observation, data collection and teamwork. Indeed, this study supports that students can be involved in all stages of scientific research and the data can be used in scientific investigations, improving the size and quality of citizen science databases. This investigation reinforces the importance of citizen science projects in a school context to improve the student’s skills and scientific knowledge regarding climate change.