ABSTRACT
This essay summarizes the findings of email inquiries to 61 people in the science center community. With some exceptions, it was felt that science museums have largely failed to make meaningful progress in shifting the demographics of visitors to more closely align with those of their communities or the nation at large. Much as we tell teachers that they need to move from a teacher-centric classroom to a student-centric classroom, science museums need to move from an institution-centric approach to a community/guest-centric approach. I think we can argue, however, that the inquiry method and student-direct approach to science learning that occurs in museums changed science teaching in the formal classroom. A major challenge is that serving adult audiences and dealing effectively with important societal issues does not provide the same “return on investment” as serving families and children. To be sustainable in broadening our audiences and dealing with important issues to the community require new ways of funding science museums.
