THE SCIENCE CENTER MOVEMENT - CONTEXTS, PRACTICE, NEXT CHALLENGES

As the science center movement expands worldwide, the time seems ripe to stimulate an informed debate centered on the purpose, practices, an d achievements of science centers, together with the challenges they f ace in the next decade. The first section of this paper focuses on cur rent practice, drawing dimensions from artifact to education, from did actic to empowering, from tutti-frutti to story line, from museum to D isney. Programs beyond the exhibition, and links with the formal educa tion system and the local community, are also considered. The second s ection deals with the diversity of contexts within which science cente rs operate-cultural, political, financial, educational-and coins the a cronym ASSET: Alternative Settings for Science, Engineering, and Techn ology. The final section looks to the future, identifying funding gaps , the need for longitudinal evaluation studies, and the challenge of n ew information technologies. Finally, in the spirit of international c hallenge, the authors pose three leading questions: What lies beyond t he existing-exhibit clone? Can an Art/Science divide be defined? How c an we communicate contemporary science and scientific issues?