The Museum of Science (MoS) in Boston is contributing to early endeavors of informal science educators to engage and inform the public about the emerging field of nanotechnology by producing 3-5 minute segments that appear on a regional cable news station, New England Cable News (NECN). Multimedia Research implemented a naturalistic post-only experiment with three general goals: (1) to assess the effectiveness of four Sci-Tech Today segments in engaging, educating and motivating the public to learn more about nanotechnology; (2) to appraise local news viewers' support for science and technology news; and (3) to explore the perceived value of the Museum of Science's involvement in production of Sci-Tech Today. The study randomly assigned 62 adults to a treatment group and control group. Once a week for four weeks, the treatment group viewed a half-hour newscast in which was integrated a Sci-Tech Today nanotechnology segment and the control group viewed a newscast without a nanotechnology segment. By many measures, the Sci-Tech Today segments were very successful in engaging, educating and motivating viewers to learn more about nanotechnology Immediately after seeing the NECN newscasts each week, half to three-quarters of Sci-Tech Today segment viewers identified as interesting the respective nanotechnology stories, indicating high engagement with the topic. Viewers described the unique and informative content, the demonstrations, the practical applications, the benefits and risks of nanotechnology, and the interdisciplinary aspect of the field. Sci-Tech Today viewers were significantly more likely to name the nanotechnology stories as interesting compared to a national news story, local news story, or sports and weather. After the four weeks of newscast viewing, significantly more of those who saw the Sci-Tech Today segments reported having heard more about nanotechnology than those who did not view the segments and reported that television was their major source of nanotechnology information, due to the Sci-Tech Today segments. The Sci-Tech Today viewers demonstrated significantly more knowledge about nanotechnology and its applications, deeper knowledge, and more confidence in their knowledge, as compared to the control group. Viewers of Sci-Tech Today acquired knowledge about the scale of nano, about specific beneficial applications of nanotechnology, and that scientists engineer materials and technologies at the nanoscale. The two groups did not differ significantly in their descriptions of what the prefix nano means. The treatment group rated nanotechnology as significantly more beneficial for the United States society as a whole, but the two groups did not differ in their ratings of risk. Sci-Tech Today nanotechnology segments were equal to national and local news stories in stimulating a curiosity to know more about topics, and a large majority of viewers agreed that seeing the segments excited them about future applications of nanotechnology. Viewers of the four Sci-Tech Today segments were significantly more likely than non-viewers to report paying attention to news about nanotechnology as well as thinking about, discussing and looking for information about nanotechnology and its applications. Exposure to the segments also motivated significantly more viewers than non-viewers to look for newscast-related information online, with 40% of the treatment group visiting a nanotechnology-related website announced on-air. Viewers support the inclusion of science and technology segments in local newscasts The integration of Sci-Tech Today segments in the local newscast did not add to nor detract from viewers' ratings of interest in or perceived clarity of each overall newscast nor viewers' motivation to continue viewing the NECN evening newscast. Those who viewed Sci-Tech Today segments were very supportive of including science and technology news with other news and supportive of broadening the science topic coverage. The Museum of Science benefits from association with the Sci-Tech Today segments A large majority of those who saw the nanotechnology segments recognized that they were filmed in the Museum of Science and agreed that these MoS-produced segments increased the value of the museum to the community. Two-fifths of viewers felt the nanotechnology segments increased their interest in visiting MosS; however, viewers' intention to visit in the next six months was not significantly different from those who did not view the segments. In conclusion, the four Sci-Tech Today nanotechnology segments in this naturalistic experiment successfully fostered awareness and understanding of nanotechnology and its applications in adult viewers of a regional newscast. These results likely generalize to comparable newscast settings with similar carefully-crafted and well-produced segments about nanotechnology.
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