Engaging Public Audiences in Current Health Science at the Current Science & Technology Center (Museum of Science, Boston)

July 1, 2006 | Public Programs

In April 2001, the Museum of Science in Boston launched the Current Science & Technology Center, an effort to engage public and school audiences in leading edge research and to provide depth and context for science and technology stories in the news within a museum context and through various outreach methods. Health science programming in the CS&T Center is researched, produced and delivered to primarily public audiences in partnership with selected New England area medical and public health schools, teaching hospitals, and biomedical research institutes. This Health Science Education Partnership (HSEP) is funded by SEPA grant from the National Center for Research Resources at the National Institutes of Health. The Museum of Science (MOS), in collaboration with the Institute for Learning Innovation (Institute), initiated a multi-year evaluation effort designed to support the Current Science & Technology Center and its Health Science Education Partnership through (1) the monitoring and evaluation of CS&T's several modes of education and outreach; (2) the establishment of a baseline understanding of how a consortium of research organizations working with a major science museum can help facilitate public interest in and understanding of research and stimulate further learning and dialogue, and (3) a comprehensive assessment of the efficacy of the CS&T project as a whole, and the HSEP partnership in particular. This summative evaluation report will focus on the audience perceptions and outcomes, and on the partnership between the museum and participating individual scientists and supporting institutions. The guiding question is: Does CS&T provide an effective mechanism for communicating current health science research in a science center setting? This appendix of this report includes interview questionnaires, forms, and a tracking guide.