ABSTRACT
Recent decades have seen a profound shift in the way museums perceive themselves and how they, in turn, are perceived by their surrounding communities and societies. New technologies, new economic realities, and rapid demographic and generational changes have set the stage for this shift, and many museums have responded quickly and decisively by re-appropriating their traditional and self-referential functions to reflect more community-oriented perspectives. However, nineteenth and twentieth century museum logics may still linger in places, leaving members of the non-dominant yet fast-growing communities on the outside. One attempt to shift the balance between community and curators is exemplified by the Irresistible Project, that engaged students in deconstructing the science of scientists and reconstructing it in the form of exhibits intended to engage visitors in critical dialogue about science.
