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Dec 21, 2005 Commentary

Should explainers explain?

One of the most common, and probably one of the crucial questions about science centers and interactive exhibitions is often phrased as “Ok, it’s fun, but do they learn anything?”. What follows is not an attempt to answer this question; we will just use it as a starting point for a discussion about the role of explainers in science centers. Explainers are usually very motivated people, possessing a genuine interest in science and technology and a scientific background they are eager to share. And they feel everyone else should be as enthusiastic about science as they are. This is a legitimate aspiration, of course, but how exactly does one try to achieve this goal? What is the explainer’s role? Quite often, the answer to the question “…but do they learn anything?” is: “Yes, if we teach them”. It is simple, straightforward, probably it works to some extent, and this is the reasoning that makes explainers become… well, explainers. And this should be avoided.

Volume 4Issue 042005

Dec 21, 2005 Commentary

Beautiful guides. The value of explainers in science communication

by Paola Rodari , Maria Xanthoudaki

During the last annual conference of ECSITE (European Collaborative for Science and Technology Exhibitions; Helsinki, June 2005), for the first time two discussion sessions were devoted to explainers, the innumerable people – young students mainly – who welcome visitors at exhibitions, museums and festivals, who animate laboratories and science shows, who guide, explain and lately also stimulate and manage discussions and participatory procedures. Thanks to the involvement of the speakers, who agreed to submit a broadened version of their papers, JCOM is glad to host the proceedings of these meetings. A great deal has to be done yet in order to analyse the complex European context and to fully understand the explainer’s professional profile.

History of the museums, the mediators and scientific education

by Brigitte Zana

Should explainers explain?

by Antonio Gomes da Costa

Training science centre Explainers. The Techniquest experience

by Colin Johnson

Who are the Explainers? A case study at the House of Experiments

by Miha Kos

Volunteers as explainers at the Finnish Science Centre Heureka

by Marjatta Väkeväinen

Literature review

by Leonardo Alfonsi

Volume 4Issue 042005

Dec 21, 2005 Commentary

Who are the Explainers? A case study at the House of Experiments

by Miha Kos

Hiša Eksperimentov (The House of Experiments) is a very small science centre. We are situated in the centre of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. The gross area of the centre is only 500 square meters and we meet around 25,000 visitors per year. We were opened for the public in the year 2000. In the Hiša Eksperimentov there are four full-time employees and around 10 persons working and paid by fees. There are specific institutions present in Slovenia so called Student services. They help students in finding paid job on daily basis. The state still encourages students to work by lowering the taxes for their job. There are around 25 students working as explainers in Hiša. Here are some facts about Slovenia. The population is around 2 million in the area of 20,256 square kilometers. There are 18 students per 1000 inhabitants. One can play a game with numbers – taking into account the area of Hiša and the population and area of Slovenia one can calculate that there is one person expected in an area of the size of 20 science centers. And there are even much fewer students present in the same area. But the number of visitors and students working in the center proves the density is larger. Therefore science centers do concentrate the population!

Volume 4Issue 042005

Dec 21, 2005 Commentary

Volunteers as explainers at the Finnish Science Centre Heureka

by Marjatta Väkeväinen

Heureka is situated in the Helsinki Metropolitan area. Every year, on average, 300.000 visitors come to Heureka; it is one of the largest year-round attractions in the area. 20–25% of the visitors are school classes. Heureka has a main exhibition including Children’s Heureka and also always houses two temporary exhibitions. Special activities supplement the exhibitions: The Verne Theatre, Children’s Laboratory, The Open Laboratory, Science Theatre Minerva and the Basketball Rats.

Volume 4Issue 042005

Sep 21, 2005 Commentary

Networking at global and community levels for control of diseases

by Indira Nath

The world is facing an unprecedented situation in health management as fast transport and travel lead to spread of diseases at a rate that has not been seen before and into countries that had once conquered them. This is even more evident with infectious diseases which do not respect geopolitical barriers or economic progress. It is becoming increasingly clear that control of such diseases and good practices for public health need global sharing of knowledge and international cooperation. In addition networking of institutions involved in health care with the communities that they serve is fundamental to containing diseases and promoting good health. For reasons as yet unclear even non infectious diseases such as obesity, hypertension and diabetes are also increasing at an alarming rate globally. The advantages of international networking and timely communication which contained three diseases will be discussed in this article.

Volume 4Issue 032005

Sep 21, 2005 Commentary

Communication for development. An Indian experience

by Subbiah Arunachalam

"Knowledge and information are essential for people to respond successfully to the opportunities and challenges of social, economic and technological changes (...). But to be useful, knowledge and information must be effectively communicated to people", says the Food and Agricultural Organization. India is home to a number of ICT-enabled development initiatives, and we will look at one of them to learn how an effective communication strategy is used.

Volume 4Issue 032005

Sep 21, 2005 Commentary

Scaling up communication of scientific information to rural communities

by Kong Luen Heong , Monina Escalada

A wide gap exists between what scientists and rural farmers know. The rapid advancements in digital technology are likely to widen this gap even further. At the farmers' level, this knowledge gap often translates into poor and inefficient management of resources resulting in reduced profits and environmental pollution. Most modern rice cultivars can easily yield more than 5 tons per hectare when well managed, but millions of farmers often get less than 5 tons using the same production inputs.

Volume 4Issue 032005

Sep 21, 2005 Commentary

Knowledge sharing for sustainable development through biodiversity conservation in the Mesoamerican region

by Topiltzin Contreras-MacBeath

As recognized by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, the human community has reached a point in which it is faced with an array of choices that will determine the quality of our lives and the state of the global environment for present and future generations. One possibility is that at long last we will pave a path toward environmental stewardship and sustainable development. But it is also quite possible that we will travel a less enlightened course, running down the earth's natural capital and severely limiting the choices our descendants will face.

Volume 4Issue 032005

Sep 21, 2005 Commentary

Knowledge sharing (or a life of knowledge sharing)

by Faustino Siñeriz

I have been involved in College education since my days as a student in the Universidad de Buenos Aires. At that time, 1960, I helped to teach the course of Scientific Russian given in the Faculty of Sciences; strange as it might seem, the aim of the course was to allow the students to use scientific books especially in the area of Physics and Mathematics.

Volume 4Issue 032005

Sep 21, 2005 Commentary

Science communication between scientists and publics in developing countries. A knowledge-sharing experience

by Marzia Mazzonetto , Peter McGrath

How does knowledge sharing affect scientists' everyday work in developing countries? And how important is it for the development not only of new scientific research, but also for improving the living conditions of local inhabitants? These are the questions that a group of scientists met to discuss during an international workshop on Knowledge Sharing for Local Development in the South held in Trieste, Italy (4-6 July 2005). Based on their personal experiences, their thoughts and opinions create an interesting insight into new practices for the public communication of science, medicine and technology from a point of view that is often under-estimated: the one of the scientists themselves. The workshop, organized by the Third World Network of Scientific Organizations (TWNSO) and the United Nations Development Programme's Special Unit for South-South Cooperation (UNDP-SSC), showcased 15 case studies that utilized a variety of knowledge sharing methods, and, in doing so, highlighted the critical role that knowledge sharing plays in sustainable development. For more information: http://www.twnso.org

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