DOTIK
SCHOOL PROGRAMME - PDF VERSION
All sessions will be organised as interactive workshops.
High value will be given to the interaction between
the invited speakers’ knowledge and the participants’
experience on the field.
Session organisers and presenters will act as catalysts
ensuring and enhancing reactions, rather than as speakers.
In order to reach a highly interactive atmosphere, time
will be left for open discussion following daily participants’
feedback (the “blackboard blog”), and to
any sort of improvised presentation or show.
The school programme has been developed following a
trial period and an experimental school, in a participative
effort with explainers from three European science centres.
The school programme will be articulated in 5 main
strands:
STRAND 1. Who am I?
Where are we starting from? What is our self
perception as museum explainers? How different is the
explainer status in different science centres and museums,
and in different European countries?
STRAND 2. Governance and citizen participation
How do we deal with contemporary “hot”
science and with controversial issues? What does governance
have to do with explainers in science centres?
STRAND 3. Knowing the visitor, listening to
the visitor
How do we know what the visitors want? How
do we let our institutions know what we know about the
visitors?
STRAND 4. Look into my eyes!
Engaging the visitors: how do we make them
intelligently happy?
STRAND 5. Evening showcase
Pocket experiments from all the participants.
Each strand will involve plenary sessions, parallel
sessions, practical workshops and general discussions.
Details on the day-by-day structure will be communicated
in due course.
STRAND 1: WHO AM I?
We cannot start a training course without knowing each
other, and without knowing our working status. The aim
of Strand 1 is to explore the self perception of explainers,
the way we interpret our role, the way the institution
interprets our role, and to present and discuss the
training of explainers in European science centres.
a) Focus group
The social research technique will be used to emerge
personal and direct experiences of the participants,
in order to compare and explicit the actual practices
of working in a science museum in contact with the
public.
b) Travelling through Europe
Results of the DOTIK survey and general knowledge
about the role of explainers in European science centres
and museums.
c) Looking at each other, visiting each other
How is the training of explainers organised
in different institutions? How can the experience
of the explainer generate feedback to the institution
in order to improve the offer to the public? Are exchanges
of explainers among science centres a feasible practice?
STRAND 2: GOVERNANCE and CITIZEN PARTICIPATION
From representative to participative, democracy is
evolving. The arena of discussion of scientific issues
is widening, and science centres are becoming key actors
in the dialogue between science and society.
What is the role of explainers in this evolutionary
landscape?
a) What is governance?
Why is governance such an important issue in contemporary
Europe? What is the European commission working to
improve governance in science and technology?
b) Play DECIDE – workshop
A card game to discuss and deliberate about controversial
issue: a practical example applicable also at small
scale.
c) Citizen science - workshop
Engaging young people and teachers in discussions
about science issues that affect society today.
d) Controversy and participation
What are the “hot” scientific topics of
today for the museum visitor? How can the explainers
help identify them? Which topics require a participatory
approach to be dealt with?
We will start from practical examples and the experience
of all participants to project ourselves in an exploratory
simulation and guessing game (what will be the controversial
issues of tomorrow? How will we tackle it?).
STRAND 3: KNOWING THE VISITOR, LISTENING TO
THE VISITOR
Explainers live in contact with the public. They know
the public. How to structure this knowledge? How to
improve explainers’ skills in interpreting public
needs, and use this skills to improve their action?
a) Knowing the visitor: how? And what for?
Principles of evaluation, visitors’
studies and the possible applications for the explainers.
b) Evaluation workshop
On the field: a practical exercise on observing and
analysing visitor behaviour at the Hisa Eksperimentov
science centre in Ljubljana.
c) You never know what could happen - workshop
How to approach the public who is visiting the museum?
How to react to different, often difficult situations
that occur when dealing with the public?
What will you do if…? The explainers’
scenario workshop.
d) Learning styles – workshop
Visitors are all different. What can we learn from
cognitive psychology, which can help us interact and
engage with them?
e) Listening to the visitors
How to listen to the visitor, collect their inputs,
and use the explainers’ knowledge of the visitors
as a tool to improve the offer of the science centre.
STRAND 4: TO THE HEARTH OF THE VISITOR
Engaging the visitor is a very complex job. We will
explore engagement techniques aimed at promoting debates
and the participation of the visitor in scientific issues.
We will focus on the role of humour, art, theatre, role
playing and social interaction.
a) Science adventures
Rhythm and humour to reach the visitors
b) Science direct: taking science to the
unfamiliar.
c) The role of theatre and role playing
a. Video presentation of relevant experience.
b. Role playing: let’s try an example.
c. Role playing: let’s build a scenario.
d. Role playing/theatre evening performance.
d) Let’s meet at the exhibit
How can explainers contribute in transforming an exhibition
into a social event, favouring horizontal exchanges
among visitors?
STRAND 5: EVENING SHOWCASE
In the evening, when the heart is lighter and the wine
sweeter, in a relaxed and anarchical atmosphere, participants
will show their favourite activities: short presentations,
fun tricks, shows, pocket experiments, etc.
Be prepared!
We intend to propose some thematic evenings. i.e.:
tricks with eggs; animation on chemistry; how to deal
with the disabled/hyperactive, etc.
Suggestions are welcome!
OTHER ACTIVITIES:
A gastronomy get together will take place on the first
day of the school. Each participant is invited to bring
a taste of the typical food and/or drinks of its country.
A trip to Ljubljana (Slovenia’s capital, 80 km
away from Trieste) is planned, in order to visit Hiša
Eksperimentov science centre and visit some Slovenian
caves.
Free time will be allowed for other ideas to spark.
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