Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Click here to sign up for SAGE Journal Email Alerts today!

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Science Communication
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Bell, L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?

Engaging the Public in Technology Policy

A New Role for Science Museums

Larry Bell

Museum of Science, Boston, lbell{at}mos.org

As science museums become increasingly engaged with informal education about technology, consideration of both social values and ethical controversies becomes more central to their role. While science has traditionally been represented as largely independent of these considerations, technology more visibly presents society with choices. The Museum of Science in Boston has been experimenting with a variety of public engagement approaches designed to help visitors think and talk about the societal implications of nanotechnology. These approaches are generally interactive and two-way, allowing for the collection of data about what people think in addition to simply disseminating information about technology to them. This aspect raises ethical issues in itself. What, if anything, should museums do with information about the opinions expressed?

Key Words: science museums • public engagement models • technology and ethics • nanotechnology • informal science education

Science Communication, Vol. 29, No. 3, 386-398 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1075547007311971
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?