Séminaire de Recherche en Didactique et Epistémologie des Mathématiques :

Le 29 mai 2018 à 13:30 - Campus Triolet- Bâtiment 9, salle 109

Présentée par PEDRETTI Eminia - Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto (Canada)

Communicating Controversy: Production, Consumption and the Changing Landscape of Science Museums

Increasingly, science museums and science centres are developing exhibitions that are provocative and often controversial in nature, as they cut across issues involving science, technology, society, environment, and politics. Installations centering on climate change, wildlife conservation, GMOs, reproductive technologies and nanotechnologies are but a few examples of complex issues that are changing the landscape of these institutions. Embedded within the political and social trappings of the day, these contemporary installations encourage different kinds of visitor experiences and interactions. They are inherently challenging for institutions to create and host, and they pose compelling questions about the nature and purpose of science and science museums. Drawing upon international case studies of controversial exhibitions, I will discuss the changing landscape of science museums, the role of controversy, and the institutional challenges of producing and consuming controversy. Erminia Pedretti is Professor of Science Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto. She is a former Director of the Centre for Science, Mathematics and Technology Education located in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, and teaches in the initial teacher education and graduate programs. Her research focuses on science education in school and non-school settings, environmental education, and teaching and learning about science, technology, society and environment (STSE). She has published over 45 articles, 5 books and 2 teacher education textbooks. Her current funded research project Engaging the Public with Controversial Exhibitions at Science Museums explores, through a series of case studies, controversial and/or issues-based exhibitions and the interface between science communication and visitor engagement.