Science Centers

Citation:  Burkut, E.B., 2018, Investigation of Sustainable Architectural Design : A Case Study in Konya'' IGCC Conference: International Green Capital Congress (IGCC). 8 may - 12 may 2018 Konya, Turkey: BURKUT, Emine Banu. "Sürdürülebilir Mimari Tasarımların Konya Örneğinde İncelenmesi." Uluslararası Yeşil Başkentler Kongresi, Konya (8-11 Mayıs 2018). ISBN-0000507-1-4

Abstract Sustainability, while meeting today's needs as well as considering the needs of future generations and not harm the environment, is the expression of a conscious understanding of the use of natural resources (Merlin, 2003). Sustainable architecture is supported as a solution to global environmental problems and development problems, holistic, is a form of strategic and planned construction. Furthermore, the sustainable architectural design as well as morphological characteristics, the area's social, cultural and economic contributions to the infrastructure which also envisages a practical environmentally sensitive architecture (Arsan, 2008). Sustainable architecture and urban design are important for the image of the city and urban living. Working under sustainable architecture Konya located in the district center (LEED certified) as designed; Konya Science Center

We present a science centre established in Genoa on an agreement between Municipality of Genoa and Department of Physics of University of Genoa. The aim is to offer children, young people and community an opportunity to approach science in a playful way. The centre staffs guide the visitors through the exhibits, attracting their interests towards the most amusing aspects of the phenomena. According to the principles of constructivism, kids and children are encouraged to handle objects, play with geometrical shapes, observe materials collected from natural and human environment and make “discoveries”, and students can take advantage of the visit and from the exhibits to study in depth a specific topic afterwards in their class, thus preventing the aridity of a purely formal presentation of the discipline, while a general public can realize how much science affects people’s lives, enjoy its fun aspects and meet scientists during special events.

Interactive science centers are unique players in the science education community, but their positioning as both authorities on science and providers of “free choice” learning presents learning researchers with a problematic contradiction rooted in the complexities of trying to be both ‘scientific’ and ‘education’ organizations. Using insight from cultural historical activity and new institutionalism of organizations theories this study found that the activity of Exploratorium visitors recreated much of this “core” contradiction. Thirty-five families visiting the Exploratorium were invited to “draw the Exploratorium” and to explain their drawings. Analyses of these drawings and video of the families’ discussions revealed that families responded to the activity by drawing and talking about the Exploratorium in very similar ways. Their ideas about the Exploratorium show that the contradictory position of the organization shapes the context for learning through its purposeful lack of regulative structure, and consequential reliance on cultural-cognitive and normative systems as resources for information about how to conduct activity in the museum. The result is learning activity that depends on both a complex relationship between visitor and material, and on the visitor’s self-regulation through school-like definitions of science learning. This necessarily reframes the contradiction embodied by interactive science centers and suggests that interactive science centers need to proceed carefully as they move forward as organizations for learning. In addition, the study extends work on interactive exhibits showing that families value physical interaction as a source of knowledge generation. This finding directly conflicts with critiques of interactive science centers as providers of “gratuitous interactivity.”

The travelling exhibition “Vous avez dit radioprotection?” is coproduced by a science centre, (le Pavillon des Sciences), a scientific institution, the Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety Institute (IRSN), and the Pays de Montbéliard Agglomération regional authority. It gives an historic perspective on the discovery of radioactivity, and on radiation protection from two main devices: didactic films and artistic creations. Within the framework of a doctorate research in Communication Sciences at the University of Burgundy, France, this case study explores two points of view, the first being the exhibition as a mediating device, and the challenges related to it; the second is related to how the mediating device is received. The qualitative research methodology adopted permits the role of the works of art in the reception process of visitors to be analysed. Within the broader context of socio-scientific problematic awareness, the research methodology also allows the limitations of the usage of art to be questioned. The study, carried out at three different locations, showed that the exhibition was firstly examined by the institutions. Next, how visitors received the art-science dialectics was influenced by the following: whether or not the visitors recognised the piece as a work of art or not, the context of the visit to the exhibition, the type of museum, and the familiarity of visitors with the world of exhibitions.

As pessoas que vivem em situação de vulnerabilidade socioeconômica no território de centros e museus de ciências, em geral, fazem parte de um público pouco representado na audiência de visitação espontânea destes espaços, ainda que estejam fisicamente próximas. Esta pesquisa parte da perspectiva da divulgação científica, do engajamento com a ciência e inclusão social para investigar os aspectos relacionados ao diálogo estabelecido, ou não, entre estes atores: os museus de ciências e o público em vulnerabilidade socioeconômica do território. Os  participantes são profissionais que trabalham em instituições do Brasil, que compartilham seu olhar, experiência profissional e conhecimentos. De caráter qualiquantitativo, o objetivo da pesquisa foi identificar se este diálogo faz parte das práticas dos participantes, e como se passa esta abordagem, possibilitando identificar e descrever os aspectos que colaboram para sua realização, e as principais barreiras que as impeçam. A coleta de dados foi realizada em duas etapas, a primeira constituída de questionário, e a segunda, de entrevistas com roteiro semiestruturado. Em função da pandemia COVID-19 e as recomendações de distanciamento social da OMS, ambas as etapas foram realizadas online.Com base em bibliografia sobre o tema e nos relatos dos participantes, buscou-se identificar caminhos para redução das desigualdades e ampliação do acesso aos centros e museus de ciências por camadas mais amplas da população, permitindo somar elementos para se repensar o papel social dos centros e museus de ciências. A análise dos dados da primeira etapa utilizou a estatística descritiva e a análise de conteúdo por Bardin (2009), e da segunda etapa, o método de análise do Discurso do Sujeito Coletivo (DSC). Os resultados indicam práticas primordialmente direcionadas ao público em idade escolar e em menor proporção ao público adulto, o que é observado nos relatos mesmo quando o diálogo com o território é desenvolvido por meio de programas variados e direcionado à públicos diversos. O principal motivador citado para a realização deste diálogo é a desigualdade do país. A definição de um compromisso institucional de longo prazo é apontado como primeiro passo fundamental na direção da sua realização, seguida da proatividade em estabelecer o diálogo respeitoso com as diferenças. Neste contexto, os relatos compartilham a construção de um legado que colabora para romper desigualdades estruturais. As parcerias despontam como primordiais, tanto para viabilizar o acesso aos novos públicos como para colaborar na preparação de uma abordagem contextualizada das experiências oferecidas. Dentro das instituições onde trabalham, os profissionais participantes relatam que é percebido o engajamento dos visitantes com a ciência, percepção baseada em avaliações de visitas e observação da prática cotidiana. As principais barreiras para atração de públicos diversos estão associadas aos fatores extrínsecos. Entre aqueles participantes que não realizam o diálogo, são mencionados fatores relacionados à falta de prioridade institucional, e em menor intensidade a violência e a pandemia. O tema desperta o interesse de uma parcela dos participantes que não realizam o diálogo com o público em vulnerabilidade socioeconômica do território, desejo expresso nas duas fases de coleta de dados, seja no sentido de retomar tais atividades ou de conhecer caminhos para iniciar a realização deste tipo de diálogo.

Okul dışı öğrenme ortamları; öğrencilere gerçek nesnelerle etkileşime dayalı yaparak yaşayarak öğrenme fırsatı başta olmak üzere birçok imkân sunan zengin öğrenme ortamlarıdır. Bu bağlamda bu ortamlar, özellikle son yıllarda öğretim programlarının hedeflerinin gerçekleştirilmesinde formal eğitimin eksik kaldığı birçok noktayı tamamlayıcı ve destekleyici olarak eğitim-öğretim faaliyetleri içerisinde yaygın bir şekilde kullanılmaktadır. Bu çalışmada okul dışı öğrenme ortamlarından bilim merkezine gezi yapan ilkokul öğrencilerinin mühendislere ve bilim insanlarına yönelik algılarının belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Araştırmada yakınsayan paralel desen kullanılmıştır. Çalışma grubunu 2017-2018 eğitim ve öğretim yılında Kocaeli ilinin Gölcük ilçesindeki bir ilkokulda öğrenim görmekte olan ve geziye katılan 27 dördüncü sınıf öğrencisi oluşturmaktadır. Veri toplama aracı olarak Kocaeli Bilim Merkezine yapılan gezi sonrasında "Mühendislere ve Bilim İnsanlarına Yönelik Algı Ölçeği" uygulanmış ve Cronbach Alpha güvenirlik katsayısı 0.89 olarak hesaplanmıştır. Verilerin analizinde Mann-Whitney U Testinden yararlanılmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda öğrencilerin bilim insanlarına ve mühendislere yönelik algıları ile cinsiyetleri arasında anlamlı fark olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Erkek öğrencilerin kız öğrencilere göre hem bilim insanına hem de mühendislere yönelik daha fazla olumlu algıya sahip olduğu belirlenmiştir. Veri toplama aracında yer alan seçenekli beş sorunun analizinde ise betimsel ve içerik analizinden yararlanılmıştır. Öğrencilerin çoğunluğu; mühendis ve bilim insanı olmak istediğini ve feni sevdiğini belirtmiştir. Sonuç olarak erkek öğrencilerin kız öğrencilerine göre daha olumlu mühendis ve bilim insanı algısına sahip oldukları belirlenmiştir. Bilim merkezlerinin öğrencilerin mühendis ve bilim insanı algılarında etkili olduğu düşünülmektedir. Bu çalışmaya ek olarak farklı okul dışı öğrenme ortamlarında da karma yöntem araştırmaları ile deneysel çalışmaların yapılabileceği önerilmektedir. Erkek öğrencilere göre daha düşük mühendis ve bilim insanı algısına sahip olan kız öğrencilerde daha olumlu algılar oluşturmaya yönelik çalışmalar yapılması önerilmektedir.

Firstly providing learning experiences by interacting with real-life objects, out-of-school learning environments are rich environments, which provide a lot of opportunities. In this context, these environments are used extensively in education-training activities, especially, as subsidiary and supportive to many points, which formal education lacks, in development of curriculum' goals in recent years. This study aims to determine the perceptions of primary school students towards engineers and scientists after a student visit organized to Science Center which is one of the out-of-school learning environments. Convergent parallel design was used as the research method. The study group consists of 27 fourth grade students receiving education in a primary school located in Gölcük district of Kocaeli Province as of 2017-2018 academic year. The "Questionnaire on Attitude towards Engineers and Scientists" was used as the data collection tool, and Cronbach's Alpha reliability coefficient was calculated as 0.89. Mann-Whitney U test was used for data analysis. As a result of the research, a statistically significant difference was detected between the engineer and scientist perception of students and their genders. As compared to female students, male students were found to have more favorable perceptions towards both engineers and scientists. Descriptive and content analyses were used during the analysis of five multiple-choice questions that were included in the data collection tool. The majority of students stated that they wanted to be engineer and scientist and that they enjoy science. As a result male students were determined to be higher perception towards engineers and scientists compared to female students. Science centers are considered to be effective in engineer and scientist perception of students. In addition to this research, the use of experimental methods with mixed methods research design in out-of-school environments is recommended. Further studies on improvement of female student perceptions towards engineers and scientists are also recommended.

In formal education, evaluation is often an intrinsic part of learning. However, in non-formal contexts, such as science centers and museums, evaluation methods are usually invasive and conflicting with visitors’ agendas. The I SEA project - a science communication project - intends to develop an immersive virtual reality experience (VRE – I SEA), combining science communication and its evaluation in the same experience, becomes a meaningful procedure for both visitors and institutions. The VRE – I SEA will be hosted at two Portuguese science centers (Planetarium and Expolab). Fieldwork on these centers was developed with the following goals: characterizing each center (i.e., mission, public, models of science communication), perceiving expectations and conditions for integrating the VRE – I SEA, acknowledging experience with virtual reality (VR), and learning their vision about communicating deep seas ecosystems contents. An interview script was developed to cover these themes. Two...

Out-of-school science education institutions, such as museums, science centres, zoos and aquaria, have strong potentials to promote sustainability, yet seem to lack an operational definition of sustainability that aligns with their specific characteristics and institutional remit. Here, we use the anthropological theory of didactics to systematically develop such an operational definition, designated as the reference model. We draw on literature from research and practice to account for the features of sustainability science and policy, as well as the different specific strengths of out-of-school science education institutions, to identify unique potentials for sustainability education. These potentials are synthesised and illustrated in a set of institutionally specific guidelines that optimise the organisation of sustainability for each kind of out-of-school science education institution. We conclude by considering the implications of our findings for sustainability education.

This study aimed to investigate the role of science centers in advancing scientific knowledge. To do so, two heads of science centers were selected to perform interviews, one of whom had previously worked as a head of science center in Denmark and the other of whom had previously worked as a head of science center in Turkey. The study's approach was modified as qualitative method, and the study can be thought of as a case study in this context. As a data collection tool, a semi-structured interview form was used. It was used to find out what the participants thought about the role of science centers in advancing scientific knowledge. Participants emphasize the importance of science centers in achieving effective science communication. This research is expected to guide future studies on the advancement of the scientific knowledge.

This final chapter synthesises the findings from the preceding contributions. Whilst the chapters have explored wicked problems across a broad range of settings and diversity of situations, several coherent themes that collectively characterise how out-of-school-science experiences can critically and uniquely engage learners with wicked problems are presented. The emerging themes include science alone cannot provide the answers, a diversity of voices are required, time and timing are factors and place-based perspective offers tangible narratives. From this synthesis, we set out the key messages for teachers, educators/facilitators, teacher educators and curriculum developers. Importantly, this includes a call for a (re)emphasis on the necessity for people to explore their own beliefs related to wicked problems. Finally, we, as editors, set out in this chapter a forward-looking research agenda to build knowledge of education addressing wicked problems.

In formal education, evaluation is often an intrinsic part of learning. However, in non-formal contexts, such as science centers and museums, evaluation methods are usually invasive and conflicting with visitors’ agendas. The I SEA project - a science communication project - intends to develop an immersive virtual reality experience (VRE – I SEA), combining science communication and its evaluation in the same experience, becomes a meaningful procedure for both visitors and institutions. The VRE – I SEA will be hosted at two Portuguese science centers (Planetarium and Expolab). Fieldwork on these centers was developed with the following goals: characterizing each center (i.e., mission, public, models of science communication), perceiving expectations and conditions for integrating the VRE – I SEA, acknowledging experience with virtual reality (VR), and learning their vision about communicating deep seas ecosystems contents. An interview script was developed to cover these themes. Two...

This study is about the effect of the Our World exhibit at a science center on student visitors. It elicits students’ views about the exhibits, zones, and activities, along with their level of interest and experiences. Data from students (n=346) through a survey, field notes, observations and interviews (n=18) were collected. The findings indicated that curiosity and interest were triggers for visiting the exhibits at the center. Visiting the exhibits helped students acquire science content knowledge. However, limited social interaction was observed among the student groups due to the control of tour guides within a limited period of time. It was concluded that time restriction and crowding played a crucial role in learning about science at the center. It was recommended to allocate more time for free visits, organize smaller group visits, and repair setups under maintenance in order to enhance the effect of the exhibits on students.

Timing and tracking is a common method used to collect data about visitor behavior in exhibitions. Typically, it involves the unobtrusive observation of visitors. The purpose of this paper is to present an alternative method for automated timing and tracking using an available audio guide system. In the first part of the paper, existing timing and tracking methods are reviewed to reveal their advantages and limitations. Against this background, the requirements of an alternative method for tracking large numbers of visitors in an interactive science center are discussed. Audio guides that are commonly used in museum exhibitions, are utilized to track the movement of single visitors. In the second part of the article, the use of this method is illustrated in the context of a comparative study on the orientation and choice behavior of different visitor groups in an exhibition on biotechnology, molecular biology, and genetics. In conclusion, the benefits and limitations of our approach are discussed.