Speaker
Description
This year, CERN is opening a new education and outreach facility, Science Gateway, which will host daily science shows alongside the exhibitions and lab-based workshops. The available literature suggests that science shows can lead to many positive outcomes, such as increasing knowledge of a topic and helping to create positive attitudes towards science. However, as the key aims of science shows are not clearly defined, it is difficult to know whether the outcomes achieve the desired aims. The objective of this research was to determine the most important aims of science shows, both in general and in the specific context of Science Gateway. To achieve this, semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty participants; ten from each of two expert groups: senior CERN employees with links to education and outreach, and science show presenters from around the world. Preliminary results suggest that the senior CERN employees view sense of awe and entertainment as the most important aims of science shows, whereas the science show presenters prioritised engagement and transferability (making science relevant to everyday life). This study will pave the way for future evaluation of science shows, both at this facility and in other contexts.
