ABSTRACT
The inner world of natural history museums contributes to the accumulation of knowledge of life’s diversity and material culture. But their outer world, which focuses on education and outreach, has not kept pace with contemporary advances in our understanding of how people learn. The transition from current practices of disseminating knowledge to methods that empower learners will require more than a change in aims; it is a radical shift, and it requires institutional transformation which, for the most part, has not occurred. The essays in this book provide pathways for how science museums can strengthen the effectiveness of their broader impacts to incorporate relevance, advocacy, and social responsibility.
