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Bookings are open for group visits up to 24 July 2024. 

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Visit our free galleries including our new interactive careers gallery,  Technicians: The David Sainsbury Gallery , enjoy the ultimate gaming experience in  Power Up , explore how music shapes our lives in  Turn It Up: The power of music  and plenty more.

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Introducing Technicians: The David Sainsbury Gallery

Technicians: The David Sainsbury Gallery–groups

Step into the fascinating world of STEM careers for a peek behind the scenes in our free interactive gallery. For KS3 upwards (age 11+).

Meet an employee–schools

Hands-on workshop in Technicians: The David Sainsbury Gallery, to experience what it's like to work in a STEM career. For KS3 and KS4 (age 11-16).

Technicians: Stories from behind the scenes

Discover stories from technicians working behind the scenes to save lives, make energy greener, create everyday items for the home, provide entertainment and more.

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Discover the wonder of science… wherever you are! Explore hours of hands-on activities, quizzes, games, videos and more on our new family-friendly website – all for free.

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By Learning Team on 19 September 2016

School trips to the science museum.

It’s September again and for students all over it’s time to think ahead to the new academic year. We in the Learning Support Team have also shined our shoes and restocked our pencil cases ready to welcome half a million education group visitors to the Science Museum this year.

Our main role is to give advice and plan visits to the Museum for all education groups from nurseries, schools and university students, to Scouts and Brownies as well as booking groups and families into our Science Night sleepovers.

Whether you want to learn about electricity, forces or space travel our team is dedicated to offering teachers and group leaders the best educational experiences to inspire young minds. You can see our drama characters bring history and science to life, immerse yourself in fabulous documentaries in our IMAX cinema and the very brave can fly with the Red Arrows in our simulator!

We are very excited this year to be able to book groups into Wonderlab: The Statoil Gallery , the Museum’s new interactive gallery. Wonderlab has 50 fantastic exhibits that you can get hands on with and investigate the science that surrounds us every day.

Opening on 12 October 2016, this gallery will fuel your imagination and be a wonderful experience for children and adults alike. Visits to the gallery by school groups are free, but needed to be booked in advance.

Our team was lucky enough to have a quick peak behind the scenes and we can tell that it’s going to be out of this world.

As well as the gallery, there will be science shows every day in Wonderlab, performed by the Science Museum’s fantastic team of Explainers. These will cover various topics such as forces and rockets and include many exciting live demonstrations.

If you’d like more information about an education group visit or would like to make a booking then we’d love to hear from you . Find out more at  sciencemuseum.org.uk/educators .

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Navigating into the future of science museum education: focus on educators’ adaptation during COVID-19

• Original Paper
• Published: 21 February 2023
• Volume 18 , pages 647–667, ( 2023 )

Cite this article

• Hyunok Lee   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8981-9263 1 ,
• Da Yeon Kang   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6022-0652 2 ,
• Myeong Ji Kim   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1311-8334 3 &
• Sonya N. Martin   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5124-6436 3 , 4  

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Repeated closures of the world’s science museums to stem the spread of COVID-19 have significantly reduced visitors’ access to informal science learning opportunities. Interviews with educators and an analysis of the online content of a science museum were used in this case study to examine the impact of this phenomenon on informal science education. We present several education examples to highlight how educators have attempted to adapt. Specifically, we describe and characterize educators’ strategies— collaboration , networking , and feedback —to address difficulties involved in developing virtually accessible content that will engage users. In addition, we analyze essential attributes of informal learning in the science museum attributes of interaction , free-choice learning , hands-on experience , and authentic learning that the educators kept in mind while planning and redesigning educational programs and cultural events in response to COVID-19. We conclude by forecasting the future of science museums based on the educators’ perceptions of their roles and the nature of informal science learning, assuming that educators are the crucial agents to build a new future direction.

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Over time, museums have changed their functions and roles to meet the needs of the public (Bradburne 1998 ; Cameron 2005 ; Pedretti and Iannini 2020 ). Historically, museums have been primarily tasked with collecting, storing, and exhibiting collections to enlighten and educate the public. Today, however, it is essential for museums to provide not only opportunities to view collections, but also to be informed through experiential educational programs encouraging visitors to directly touch and interact with the exhibits. For example, science museums play essential roles in educating the public about advances in science and technology, and they are also increasingly expected to engage citizens to consider complex social issues, such as climate change. Science museum educators are expected to develop exhibits that address modern understandings of science while also responding to changes in society, locally and globally, to not only provide the educational experiences the public needs, but to also remain relevant and accessible to all. This requires that science museum administrators and educators need to be flexible and adaptive to rapid changes. In this paper, we examine how educators in a mid-size public science museum in South Korea (hereafter, “Korea”) responded to the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In response to the global pandemic, the majority of museums around the world, including science museums, have experienced repeated closures to stem the spread of COVID-19 (International Council of Museums [ICOM] 2020). In this situation, museums that were able to remain open have been accelerating the digitization of their content and education services and utilizing online platforms to communicate with people and communities. Digitized content has been provided through institutions’ websites, social network services, and online platforms such as YouTube or Google Arts and Culture. With its Street View technology, the Google platform can offer online users virtual walks inside and outside museums. However, the website’s 2D images offer platform users have little opportunity to have immersive experiences and offer insufficient information about 3D objects within the museum (Burke, Jørgensen, and Jørgensen 2020 ). In addition, users have difficulties navigating galleries and understanding exhibitions’ storylines. Images of exhibits and artifacts on the Google Arts and Culture platform are generally displayed independently without the exhibition narratives that the museums’ professionals have carefully curated in the physical space of the museums (Google Arts and Culture 2021 ).

Nevertheless, during pandemic shutdowns, museums’ digitized content and online platforms gave museum enthusiasts an alternative option for virtual touring despite limited guidance from the online site. Even for someone who is not a fan of museums, digitalized services provide a different experience. The Getty Museum Challenge, for example, inspired many people at home to engage in arts experiences while creating and showcasing their own artwork using social network services (Potts 2020 ). The Getty Museum, through social media platforms, asked people to recreate its artworks in their online collection using everyday items at home. Their experiment was immensely popular among the general public, giving them a chance to reveal their creativity and sense of humor. One impressive example was a recreated painting of a Black servant posted by the Black opera singer Peter Brathwaite (Burke, Jørgensen, and Jørgensen 2020 ). It was shared with many people and got media attention by referencing the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter. Whether they are museum enthusiasts or not, people took time to access and use the museum’s artworks to express their creativity and to disseminate their opinions. Social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram opened up new spaces for museums to communicate to a broader audience.

Even before the pandemic, researchers had explored how digitalization and virtual museum experiences have an impact on visitor learning experiences and enjoyment (Schweibenz 2019 ). In the early 1990s, museums adopted the first generation of the World Wide Web (now referred to as “Web 1.0”), to make electronic brochures and digital archives (Gaia et al. 2020). Electronic brochures promoted the physical museum and provided information such as the exhibition schedules, museum locations, and brief introductions about special and permanent exhibitions. In addition, museums adopted digital archives to store information about various exhibits and to offer access to collections without physically visiting museums. As the internet developed to Web 2.0, museums developed even more interactive websites such as YouTube, Flickr, wiki pages, and blogs, all of which enabled individuals to communicate and exchange user-generated content (Marty 2008).

Initially, the authenticity of visitors’ virtual experiences using Web 1.0 was questioned because the websites were static and only conveyed information in a one-way manner (Kang and Seol 2010 ). Researchers such as Mintz ( 1998 ) warned of a real-virtual divide to describe the inequity of access opportunities that some museum visitors may experience when lacking access to technology or access to physical proximity to the museum. Schweibenz ( 2019 ) raised concerns about whether visitors would continue to physically visit museums if content was made available online. Over the last two decades, museums around the world have developed various relationships with technology and digitization of content. Some museums have continued to offer content similar to e-brochures that serve only to advertise and inform visitors about what is available at the museum, while other museums have embraced technological advances to establish more communication channels between visitors and museum professionals. For instance, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the New York City has provided visitors with a personal gallery area in which they could gather exhibits of interest and manage their own gallery as a visitor-as-curator (Dearolph 2014 ).

Such advancements in technology have enabled some museums to establish more communication channels between visitors and museum professionals and have allowed some museums to make their content accessible to wider audiences than ever before. However, the pandemic has required museum administrators and educators worldwide to rapidly consider how to respond to the forced closures of public institutions as part of government-mandated social distancing policies. In a very short time, the pandemic forced museums to accelerate the digitization of content and to adopt the use of new interactive platforms as the only way to provide the public any access. Some of the responses made by museums have raised unexpected concerns about whether or how museums the types of access developed during the pandemic might be maintained after it ends. For example, Nasta and Pirolo ( 2021 ) reported that the Vatican Museums actively used social media during the pandemic to invite several celebrities, such as beauty influencers, travel bloggers, and TV hosts with many followers on their social accounts, for an exclusive tour which was then shared via social media. After reopening their physical galleries, younger visitors came to the museums at higher rates than before the pandemic. However, this resulted in unexpected issues for the museum administrators regarding the sustainability of this kind of activity. Nasta and Pirolo pointed out that the museums needed more in-depth reflection on this trend to be able to involve younger people for the long term, because these visitors were more likely attracted by the influencers’ backgrounds than by the museum’s artworks. In addition, the unusual environment of the COVID-19 crisis has prompted museum staff to contemplate the essence or nature of museums. Feldman ( 2022 ), the director of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, with 26 years of professional experience, discussed how she demonstrated leadership and responded with other staff during the pandemic. She contemplated the value and meaning of the museum while raising the puzzling question: “What is the National Gallery without the National Gallery?” (Feldman, p. 335). That physical museum spaces have been inaccessible to the public during pandemic has provided museum staff with the opportunity to fundamentally reflect on the institution’s mission and meaning. Feldman revised the mission statement from an earlier version focusing on conventional tasks, such as collection and preservation, to a new mission statement emphasizing exploration, creativity, and shared humanity.

The research in this paper focuses on science museum educators and explores how they responded to the pandemic and then analyzes how these educators oriented themselves to adapt to this unusual environment and to produce new types of support for visitors. We trace how educators at a science center in Korea responded to continuous challenges and examine their strategies to address difficulties. We then characterize the educators’ beliefs about the essence of informal science learning. Because a crisis can provide an opportunity for people to contemplate their role or orientation while struggling with challenging situations (Robinson 2020 ), this research focuses on uncovering the opportunities and challenges faced by museum educators when responding to the pandemic. Our research questions are as follows:

What kinds of education and services were provided by the science museum in response to COVID-19?

What strategies did the science museum educators employ to address difficulties adapting to the new environment created by COVID-19?

What are educators’ essential beliefs about informal science learning and how have they changed since the pandemic ?

Our aim with these research findings is to understand the dynamics of science museum education during the pandemic, and, further, to forecast future directions based on the educators’ beliefs about the nature of informal science learning and their perceptions of their role and future. We begin with the premise that the museum staff members’ beliefs were crucial and relatively stable among other uncertain influences for forecasting the museum future. This is because the essential beliefs of the science museum educators were not merely reflected in their words but also in the actions they took and decisions they made when developing and providing educational programs and cultural events using newly adapted strategies necessary to address the challenges of the pandemic.

Context of the research

We conducted a case study to identify the practices of science museum educators when responding to the disruptions caused by the pandemic (Creswell and Poth 2016 ). The case study as a methodology aims to explore an issue or problem to develop an in-depth understanding of a social phenomenon. A case is “a specific, a complex, functioning thing” that explicitly represents “an integrated system” that “has a boundary and working parts” in social sciences and human services (Stake 1995 , p. 2). In this study, we defined the Science Center (pseudonym for the museum in this study) as an independent system (or institution) that dynamically functions to implement new education and services with some strategies to thrive in the pandemic.

Case selection is one of the most critical factors in conducting case study research. The case should be representative enough to understand the social phenomenon, but it needs unique and bounded features as a single case. While participating in a larger international research project exploring science educators’ responses to the disruption of education caused by the pandemic, we found that the organizational structure and financial stability of science museums played an important role to support educators to respond to the crisis caused by the pandemic (Kang, Lee, Kim, Martin, and Lee 2022 ; Kim, Kang, and Martin 2022 ). We found that mid-size and publicly funded science museums were liberated from delays caused by complex decision-making processes required of other institutions, which afforded educators the ability to enact responses more quickly to the museum closures caused by the pandemic.

To understand how science museums responded in a time of crisis, we decided to focus on the Science Center, which was established and operated by the government, as a representative case of a mid-size and publicly funded science museum (Ministry of Science and ICT 2019 ). The first author, who had previously worked in the informal science education field, was able to track the dynamic context of the Science Center by keeping in touch with museum educators, who reported about the many approaches their institution attempted use to respond to the pandemic, enabling the building of the case study (Creswell and Poth, 2016 ). The other authors had some expertise in this area as they had done research on responses to the pandemic by educators in another Korean science museum where the teams had focused on YouTube content development (Kim, Kang, and Martin 2022 ).

The science center

While in other countries, there have been some distinctions made between “museums” and “centers,” in Korea, there are no distinctions made between these terms with regard to the roles and responsibilities of the institutes to educate the public. So “center” and “museum” are used interchangeably in research, but in this paper, we will refer to the institute as the “Science Center.” At the time this study was conducted, the Science Center (SC) (established in May 2017) was operated with an annual budget of about 1.7 million USD by the local government. The SC is a medium-sized public science education institute with 64 employees, has about 197 exhibits, and provides a variety of educational programs and cultural events. The SC aims to serve as a sustainable platform to provide science learning for visitors—especially youth. Since February 2020, the SC has had repeated closures and has operated with fewer visitors in order to follow the government’s “social distancing” guidelines. This policy has significantly affected exhibitions, face-to-face education programs, and the total number of visitors to the institution: from 216,986 to 2019 to 29,291 (an 87% decrease) in 2020. Accordingly, the proportion of educational programs and cultural events that occur online has expanded significantly in informal science education, such as streaming science lectures and providing educational content via online platforms (e.g., YouTube).

The case study involved wide arrays of data collection from multiple sources of information to build an in-depth understanding of the case and to test out the interpretation (Stake 1995 ). We conducted multi-faceted and in-depth data collection—interviews, online education content, educational program materials, and governmental documents—to capture the SC’s responses to the COVID-19 situation. Since the institutional responses were made over a short time, we tried to explore the continual progress of the changes during the pandemic.

The data collection was mainly conducted through interviews with SC educators and supported with an analysis of administrative documents and online education programs. From October 2020 to February 2021, we conducted interviews with all 11 SC educators. Follow-up interviews were conducted with three of the 11 SC educators regarding on-going changes in response to the pandemic and the government mandates that led to continual opening and closing of public education centers. We asked about the educators’ backgrounds, roles, and responsibilities at the center, their difficulties adapting to changes caused by COVID-19, and their visions for the SC in the post-COVID-19 era. Approval to conduct this study was granted by the Seoul National University Ethics Review Board. The data collected from this project were obtained with the necessary clearance from the partner institutions and participants involved in the study. The names of the participants and the institute used in this study are all pseudonyms. The following table shows the profiles of the SC educators (Table  1 ).

The research participants worked either in the education department ( n  = 5) or the exhibition department ( n  = 6). As shown in Table  1 , the SC is unique with regard to staff diversity related to background preparation. For example, some members majored in fields other than science. SC Educator 4, for instance, majored in the Japanese language and SC Educator 5 majored in sports and health. This diversity was a result of a “new deal” initiative, which is a jobs policy created to enable government institutions to create short-term employment opportunities to provide entry-level working experiences for graduates that could be beneficial to them when seeking future employment (Seoul Metropolitan Government 2017 ). As a result of this policy, the center staff had more diverse experience from which to draw during the pandemic.

All interviews were transcribed and repeatedly read, memoed, and coded to determine patterns based on direct interpretation (Stake 1995 ) to understand the case of the SC using the qualitative software program NVivo (Version 20; QSR International 2020 ). Researchers explored data in general focusing on the educational programs conducted at the SC during the pandemic and strategies developed and implemented by educators. Researchers repeatedly read the interview data, classified the corpus that appeared related to the research questions, and pulled out the major themes. Major themes derived from interviews were tested repeatedly until no new categories appeared. Researchers named these themes using terms that SC educators used during interviews (i.e., free-choice learning, feedback, and networking). Other data sources included online education content, education program materials, and governmental documents, which were all used to validate major themes derived from interviews. For example, the governmental documents allowed researchers to identify guidelines that educators had to follow, and the SC internal documents served as evidence of SC educators’ decision-making processes while developing new education programs. In addition, online content available on the SC YouTube channel was analyzed and is presented as evidence of the strategies adopted by SC educators in response to the pandemic-necessitated closure of the center. This process of connecting interview excerpts from SC professionals with evidence drawn from other data sources allowed researchers to establish credibility. Researchers also held regular meetings for peer reviewing and member-checking with SC educators and established inter-rater reliability for coding the data, which all served to strengthen the reliability of interpretations shared. In the sections that follow, we describe the types of educational services that emerged and the strategies SC educators developed to implement and revise these services.

Education in the SC in response to COVID-19

Before COVID-19, the SC provided guided tours of exhibitions and simple hands-on experiments in the gallery. The SC also provided advanced experiment programs in separate classrooms in tandem with various educational programs and cultural events. However, following the SC’s repeated closures, its educators developed and implemented new types of educational services that could be accessed even during the pandemic. While other museum divisions were struggling to adapt to the crisis context, we found that the education department at SC was able to draw from the various majors and knowledge of the 11 SC educators on staff to respond to the non-face-to-face environment, collaborating to create new resources, services, educational programs, and cultural events. Since the alternative styles of educational programs and cultural events were new, the SC educators worked to carefully examine and analyze various audiences’ responses. The services that attracted limited users were interpreted as problematic and seen as a chance to either further develop the content to be more appealing or to re-orient to develop the offering using a new direction. In this way, the SC educators formed networks with other science museums that were experiencing similar difficulties in contriving new educational programs and cultural events, which helped to generate synergy in a non-face-to-face situation. The educators also contemplated the Science Center’s identity and its differences from other similar institutions.

From our analysis of interview responses, policy and marketing documents, and online content, we identified and categorized the emergence of four types of services, including online content with storytelling strategies , exhibits with online content , development of real-time interactive classes , and simulated experiments . Further, our analysis revealed that the SC educators valued informal learning attributes such as interaction , hands-on experience , free-choice learning , and authentic learning . Based on our inductive analysis of strategies used to implement the four types of service with the four attributes museum educators considered crucial when designing and implementing new education programs, we were able to identify and categorize three approaches used by SC educators as alternatives to traditional face-to-face educational content. The approaches included collaboration , feedback , and networking (see Table  2 ).

Online content with strategy

The SC educators produced videos and distributed them through YouTube to replace their prior educational programs and cultural events. They provide three kinds of videos: science experiment videos, exhibition tour videos introducing each section of the center, and videos explaining individual exhibits together with relevant scientific concepts and principles. Notably, they applied storytelling strategies to many of the videos. One example in which elements were used is an episode in which different student characters can be selected to perform various phases of a science experiment. The characters appear like avatars that are selected at the beginning of a game (see Fig.  1 ). The viewer of the video could select different avatar options to “follow the characters” in different video clips, while they engage in a three-step rock experiment: collecting rocks, making thin flakes, and observing them with a polarizing microscope. In each step, the video provides a game-like screen composition, sounds, and items that can be selected to improve performance of the activity. This element can serve to both engage the viewer and provide a familiar environment for watching the videos as it appears game-like.

Science experiment video with storytelling strategy

The SC educators had many difficulties, as most employees were not familiar with the filmmaking process and lacked the proper equipment and financial support to make YouTube videos, even though they are free to upload. Initially, they did not work during the first 2 months of the pandemic except to document their previous educational programs and cultural events because they did not predict the pandemic would last as long as it did. As time progressed, they felt pressure to maintain productivity and to develop some educational services in a closed learning environment to supplement their original educational programs. To start, the SC educators determined what kind of educational content would be appropriate to produce and share as YouTube videos. This resulted in the first of production of videos to be shared through the SC YouTube channel. The SC employees scripted, acted in, filmed, and edited all videos without any additional financial assistance by utilizing their mobile phones to film the videos and free editing programs on their phones and in YouTube to produce the final content for viewers. Some employees were reluctant to reveal their faces in the YouTube videos and they felt anxiety as they attempted to do the unfamiliar tasks. Over time, they found a strategy, collaboration , to reduce their stress, such as reorganizing their division of labor according to their preferences and talents. The diversity of SC educators’ backgrounds played a critical role in helping them to adapt to the new environment.

According to an analysis of viewer feedback reactions, the initial demonstration videos the SC educators uploaded to YouTube garnered only a few public reactions (such as likes or comments). During an interview, SC Educator 1 mentioned that early versions of the YouTube videos were not interesting even to herself. As the videos only allowed for one-way interaction, the staff decided to adopt a storytelling strategy to make the YouTube videos more interactive and to try to overcome this limitation. SC Educator 1 constructed a game-like plot and attempted to make the audience feel more engaged. In the following excerpt, SC Educator 1 reflects on this change in the development approach to creating online content.

We didn’t have fun, even when we watched ours [our video]. Thus, I also thought the audience would not want to watch them or look for them. I considered what it meant to make online content and then decided to make a more meaningful video. … In my opinion, the interaction between teachers and students should continue in online education. Online content is delivered in one direction, which is a limitation. At that time, I didn’t think it would be enough for us to simply change from offline to online. Thus, we decided to put four steps in the composition of the videos—introduction, development, turn, and conclusion—even if it was short, like a three-minute long video. So, if you look at the videos released in late April or early May, you can find storytelling strategy used in the content. (SC Educator 1, Interview 1, October 2020 )

By producing online content and applying storytelling techniques, the SC educators were better able to capitalize on their employees’ academic backgrounds (as they majored in various fields), their personal hobbies, and their diverse skill sets. Before the COVID-19 crisis, employees with non-science majors did not have a chance to utilize their academic knowledge for developing education content for the SC. However, diverse academic and cultural backgrounds have become unexpected resources to support new educational formats, such as YouTube video production, during the pandemic. We asked some SC educators to reflect on this shift in how people’s different expertise was viewed and how it had an impact on their work.

I majored in theater at an arts college. After graduation, I worked for a broadcasting station and then applied for a job at this science center. I am now working here. … Fortunately, I learned some related skills in college, so I was able to plan and make scenarios for the online content. When more technical skills were involved, I could ask my friends [from college and the broadcasting station] to get some help. (SC Educator 8, Interview 1, December 2020 )

When making a video, I had difficulties designing some parts, such as what fonts to use for subtitles and whether to add shadows. I didn’t know what was most appropriate. … However, one of the staff members majored in art, so I was able to ask for her advice. This was helpful. (SC Educator 5, Interview 1, January 2021 )

Through our interviews, we learned that even employees who had not majored in science were able to actively participate in the new content development. For example, SC Educator 5, who majored in sports, became interested in video editing while making the SC YouTube videos and he has even expressed plans to pursue an advanced degree in media communication for his future career. SC Educator 5 is now in charge of filming and editing at the SC. In addition, some employees opened their own YouTube channels and became YouTubers.

SC’s open and cooperative environment was significant in encouraging the sharing of ideas and creation of content with engaging stories. There was no standard to be referred to in this new environment when developing new materials. SC Educator 5 described the open working environment by stating, “Any ideas were welcome without any particular archetype.“ When asked where the ideas came from, the educators noted that they gathered ideas from their daily lives, interests, and hobbies without a predetermined framework. SC Educator 4 stated in her interview, “We simply come up with whimsical ideas, which then become entertaining resources for YouTube videos.“ The educators believed that the cooperative environment encouraged their creativity and individual contributions.

As the educators became accustomed to video production, they earnestly started analyzing audience feedback . They invited a famous YouTuber to help them learn how to analyze audience reactions and to increase viewer attention to the channel. Accordingly, they started to use new strategies, like modifying video titles to encourage “clicks” and adding thumbnails to entice viewers to watch the videos. The SC educators also began to put more consideration into the originality and purposes of different types of online content that can be developed for viewers. When asked to reflect on the need to develop content that reflected the reactions of their viewers, SC Educator 1 responded at length about this issue.

Other science centers had started releasing videos at that time. Thus, you can find similar content on YouTube. At least we have produced different content by adopting the storytelling technique. Is it reasonable to produce similar content online? … It would be okay if the services were offered offline, but if we upload a similar video online, viewers see the same thing over and over again. … Now, we have figured out at least some content or videos that we did not need to create. We realized that larger science centers were able to produce them with better quality. (SC Educator 1, Interview 2, February 2021 )

SC Educator 1 felt it was important for her and her colleagues to pay attention to the originality of their online content compared with that of other science museums. She realized that similar content could not attract audiences, so she tried to create a niche for their content in comparison with other science museums and YouTube creators. They needed to determine what role they could play in this new market and were often surprised by audience responses.

We were surprised when one short experiment video about growing bacteria gained so many more views than some of the other videos that we had created with a lot more effort. Why did this happen? Was this the kind of content viewers wanted from our science center? Later we found that the rapid increase in views for this video was because it had been linked to another educational platform. So [we thought] what direction should we go? Is it our position and role to create and distribute helpful content to schools as a public institution? (SC Educator 1, Interview 2, February 2021 )

The non-face-to-face environment and unexpected audience feedback made SC Educator 1 and the other educators question their identities as informal science educators and re-consider their roles during the pandemic. Initially, the SC educators partially replaced their original educational programs with the most accessible alternative: YouTube videos. They realized that the YouTube videos lacked audience interaction , so they adopted the storytelling technique to create new content, despite its limitations. The implementation of the new tasks was aided by the SC staff’s diverse backgrounds and collaborative spirit. While intently analyzing the audience’s responses to videos by monitoring likes and comments, the SC staff were constantly re-considering their roles and the types of educational programs and cultural events they should develop.

Exhibits with online content

The SC educators found they could also use the online content they had produced for use with the offline exhibits in future when people were allowed to visit the center again. SC educators added QR codes to relevant exhibits so that visitors could access supplemental content using their mobile phones while visiting the gallery and even access and review the linked content after they left the center. Examples of supplemental content included additional explanations from docents, interviews with historians, and more detailed images and simulations. In particular, they provided a QR codebook with serial codes of related exhibits on the exhibition hall floor map (see Fig.  2 ), providing online content for groups of exhibits based on several themes. Visitors could guide themselves with the book, thus replacing the exhibition tour led by a docent. This service started as a social distancing effort to help avoid or decrease face-to-face contacts for both visitors and staff members.

Exhibition guided tour with QR code

It was unexpected that this method could provide more free-choice learning opportunities than the traditional guided tours using a docent. One educator depicted her experience of how this finding challenged her fixed ideas that face-to-face services are better than non-face-to-face services.

I had believed that face-to-face services and meeting visitors were the best. I thought it was friendly and good service. I changed my initial thoughts through my experiences and based on the evidence I collected while implementing the QR code service. Visitors seemed to enjoy the center more while following their interests and needs. They spent more time in the exhibits than before. This was a crucial opportunity for me to understand that sticking to face-to-face service is not everything. (SC Educator 6, Interview 2, February 2021 )

SC Educator 6 observed that visitors spent more time in the exhibits and enjoyed this self-guided tour more than the guided tours. Thus, she challenged her preconceived notion that traditional face-to-face docent tours were superior to this digitalizing method. In different interviews, SC Educators 9 and 3 remarked that visitors were pleased with the QR code service because they could utilize it at any time of day, according to their preferences, as opposed to having to schedule a guided tour.

In addition, while the SC was locked down, the educators hosted a YouTube live guided tour event featuring a famous YouTuber here in Korea. Viewers could navigate the gallery based on their preferences by controlling the YouTuber as if he were their avatar in order to view specific exhibits and conduct experiments. The SC educators discovered alternative ways to utilize digitized content and online services that challenged their conceptions of what free-choice learning entailed. The SC educators agreed that the alternatives were not only effective in the short term but could also be maintained in the post-COVID-19 era based on audiences’ feedback from the perspective of free-choice learning.

Real-time interactive online classes

Several face-to-face educational programs and cultural events such as advanced experimental laboratory classes, a 1-day ecology program designed for families, and a Science Day event were all canceled in the early stages of pandemic. As the museum closure progressed, SC educators determined a way to run a variety of programs for students, families, and adults using online interactive formats. One method that proved to be popular was to have SC educators perform experiments online while viewers who had registered for activity kits followed along at home and conducted their own experiments using the kit materials they had received in the mail. As SC educators learned how to use interactive platforms such as Zoom, these activities evolved into a new type of museum content involving real-time interactions between instructors, students, and their peers. Figure  3 presents three selected programs: crafting with everyday objects course, mentoring to guide students in their careers by engaging in dialogue with an invited science-related professional, and a course conducted in collaboration with other science museums that focused on engaging in experiments at home. It took about a month for SC educators to develop, pilot, and monitor these courses using volunteer students before they felt confident enough to market the programs and register participants.

Three example programs of real-time interactive classes.

The first program to be introduced was crafting with commonplace objects. This course was created with the intention of assisting people in overcoming depression (known as “corona blues” in Korea) by fostering a feeling of achievement. After delivering the craft items to the applicants, the SC educators conducted the courses in real-time online with registered participants.

The second program was conducted as a small-group activity with a limited number of applicants to help ensure that students could engage in sustained conversation with invited speakers as part of a career mentoring program. Rather than invite famous people, the SC educators chose to invite young scientists and related professionals to encourage friendly and comfortable dialogues that were accessible for young mentees. Another unexpected benefit of the pandemic was that this online format even allowed the SC to recruit international speakers to serve as mentors for the course. This would not have been as feasible without the use of virtual tools.

The third program was a co-developed experimental course designed by SC educators who collaborated with educators from other informal science institutions. This program took considerable preparation as the SC educators needed to first conduct a workshop for the instructors who would be teaching the real-time online classes to become accustomed to the Zoom platform and to be able to integrate and use various functions and additional instruction tools, such as Padlet and Jamboards, to help maximize participant interaction . The SC educators hired several facilitators to help assist the instructors to ensure that students who enrolled in the courses were able to effectively communicate and interact with the instructor and their peers. When asked about the effectiveness of engaging facilitators to support the instructors in the courses, one SC educator responded:

We tried our best to maximize interaction with learners. For example, we kept learners talking using a chatbox and asked them to turn their cameras on. Staff and other facilitators assisted instructors in focusing on their lectures. They answered the students’ questions during lecturing and helped individual students when equipment malfunctioned. (SC Educator 3, Interview 2, February 2021 .

The SC instructors found that online classes made it easier in some respects to interact with students. They found that during online classes, facilitators could identify and meet the needs of individual students. For example, while the main instructor was giving lectures, the facilitators utilized a chatbox to respond to students who were having trouble understanding. In addition, facilitators could use messaging tools to try to elicit responses from less responsive students. The SC educators realized such tools provided students who may be marginalized in traditional face-to-face interactions with a means to ask questions and be engaged. Such positive outcomes challenged several SC educators’ ideas about how to best provide educational content. Additionally, when asked to reflect on the impact of collaborating with educators at other institutions to plan and develop these new courses, SC educators noted that collaboration helped to contribute to their growth and expertise. In the past, when the SC educators developed online programs, they were often in the position of competing with other programs being developed by other museums. This did not encourage collaboration. During the pandemic, however, when all content was available online, the SC educators felt less pressure to compete and develop networks to create programs of better quality.

However, due to the rapid introduction of online platforms, educators faced unexpected difficulties related to institutional regulations and lack of financial support. For example, at the start of the pandemic, employees outside of the educational content development team rejected paying instructors’ expenses for online classes and uploading lecture content instead of engaging in face-to-face lecturing. The institutional regulations did not allow for providing support for online classes. As a result, the SC educators had a difficulty finding experienced instructors and could not hire enough facilitators to assist interactive online classes due to insufficient funding. Moreover, it was challenging to assist individual students about how to use the Zoom platform, since many of the students lacked the digital abilities essential to effectively participate in online education sessions. For instance, in the course on crafting with everyday objects, numerous participants had difficulties following instructors since the right and left sides of the live broadcast were reversed. Some older participants or students with less access to resources (computers, tablets, or reliable internet) suffered a digital gap that resulted in participation hurdles that instructors and facilitators needed to address swiftly.

The SC educators suggested developing a networking strategy to find collective solutions to underlying difficulties induced by the shift of physical museums to an online space. SC Educator 1 reacted to the value of this network by stating that “in the online arena, educational content and programs must be unique compared to other institutions; alternatively, it is preferable to engage with other institutions and establish educational programs and cultural events jointly.“ The strategy was exemplified with a geology course taught jointly by four science institutes. This co-taught geology course included an overview of related concepts (provided by the National Science Museum), close-ups of geologically significant locations (provided by a docent at a geopark), an experiment class conducted to observe lipid samples with a polarized microscope (provided by a municipal science center), and a concluding activity that summarized what was learned (provided by another National Science Museum). This course was provided specifically to marginalized students in a rural area school because these students had access to few educational resources during the pandemic. The goal of the program was to maximize student meaning-making when learning through online classes by providing learners with experience with varied content over an extended period of time.

The SC educators designed real-time online classrooms with an emphasis on interaction . Hence, they hired facilitators to help participants be active and engaged during the class and organized programs with small-group enrollments to allow for an intimate, easy-to- interact atmosphere. Recognizing that they could not avoid being compared to similar institutions who were delivering programs in online contexts, the SC decided to offer audiences programs of wider variety and better quality by strategically employing a networking strategy to partner with other institutions. In addition, they aimed to provide audience members with hands-on experiences by using everyday materials that were already accessible in the home or by delivering experimental kits to people for use in their homes.

Simulation experiments

The SC’s science educators started developing simulation experiments with the goal of providing more complex activities than could be offered with simple laboratory kits. Importantly, the new project needed to be operational regardless of changes in the pandemic restrictions. Thus, educators had to assume that simulation experiments could be implemented in either face-to-face or in online educational environments. They started by first developing equipment simulations that demonstrate how different laboratory equipment works. For example, educators designed a micropipette simulation that operates with the click of a mouse. The simulation allows a user to insert a pipette tip into a sample and to extract and transfer the solution to a vial. This activity is similar to what happens in real laboratories (see Fig.  4 ). The educators devised equipment that users could select from to perform different functions while participating in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) simulation.

Examples of simulation experiments (left: pipette; right: polymerase chain reaction)

The educators planned to design simulation experiments for students to have authentic learning opportunities rather than cookbook-style experiments. Using data collected from real-world experiments conducted at the SC before the pandemic, the educators were able to identify how and when students most often made mistakes during experiments. They were able to use these data to develop authentic simulation experiments that provided students choices that were similar to real-world activities. For example, students could encounter measuring mistakes or use of the wrong reactants that would change the results of the experiment. When asked to reflect on the importance of having this data, SC Educator 2 noted:

I try to help the students engage in authentic inquiry using simulation experiments as much as possible. The most crucial point is that students can learn from their failures. … I drew my idea of making several options in simulation experiments available to students based on the experience of conducting and assisting experiments before COVID-19. (SC Educator 2, Interview 1, January 2021 )

Similar to the other new strategies, the educators also faced challenges while developing simulations. First, it was not easy to reach a level where users felt that the simulation was realistic. Many users have high standards for graphics due to their experiences playing high-quality online games, so they are not engaged by low-quality content. Overall, the educators were optimistic about improving the quality of their simulations over time as they planned to collect ongoing feedback from users to create better versions in future. SC Educator 2 mentioned that the ultimate goal was for learners to design their own experimental procedures for a given task by being provided with many simulation options.

The educators kept the post-COVID-19 situation in mind while developing the simulated experiments. Rather than temporarily reacting to situations, they imagined different future scenarios and then tried to develop feasible educational programs and cultural events for any situation. They could utilize the simulation experiments in an exclusively online environment if the pandemic situation continued but also planned to be able to apply them as additional tools for face-to-face experiment classes when the pandemic ceased. The simulation service would let students use essential experimental equipment beforehand and save time during actual experimenting. In other words, the educators navigated into the future using different scenarios to develop education sustainability.

The science museum’s evolution in progress

This case study depicted the pandemic response of a municipal science museum located in Korea. It closely examined what kind of educational programs and cultural events the SC educators designed and operated in a situation where science museum galleries and exhibits could not be fully utilized and face-to-face programs were limited. We found four new types of educational programs and cultural events: online content with strategies, exhibits with online content, real-time interactive online classes, and simulation experiments. We also described the difficulties and limitations the educators experienced while they digitalized educational programs and cultural events and utilized online platforms, at the same time realizing the advantages and potentials of the new approaches. The science museum educators utilized a few key strategies—collaboration, networking, and feedback—to address difficulties in providing new educational services.

During the pandemic, the educators collaborated, capitalizing on other staff members’ different academic backgrounds and resources to undertake unfamiliar tasks. They then developed a networking strategy to utilize resources of similar institutions and science museums. In particular, the educators promoted a networking strategy because the educators realized that unlike non-face-to-face education targeting a local audience, virtual visitors may find and compare similar online content created at different science museums to be redundant. Developing co-conducted educational programs that can highlight unique contributions of individual museums can be more effective. In addition, while it was commonplace to seek feedback from visitors before the pandemic, during the pandemic, it was crucial for educators to develop new skills for collecting user feedback and analyzing data from new programs to understand audience reactions in online environments. By actively learning how to interpret online feedback, the educators were able to improve education programs through a systemic process.

In particular, we analyzed the essential attributes of SC education that the educators considered while planning and operating each educational program and cultural event. The SC educators quickly found alternatives, such as making YouTube videos, to continue the operation of the science museum. They then redesigned these alternatives to reflect essential attributes of science museum learning. Due to the unusual situation of the pandemic, educators were forced to pause and reflect on daily tasks and to ask questions like, “What should we do?” “How should we operate the science museum when people cannot physically attend?” “What kinds of education programs should we design?” and “Who is our audience at this time and who will be our audience in the future?” These questions are rarely raised in normal situations where the educators are busy with daily work. The COVID-19 crisis provided an opportunity for museum educators to reflect on the nature of science museum education. These attributes—interaction, free-choice learning, hands-on experience, and authentic learning—are not differentiated from currently valued characteristics of informal learning or science museum education. This study’s contribution is a description of how the educators embodied their beliefs about museums’ essential attributes, outlining both the difficulties and limitations experienced and the emergent advantages and potential of non-face-to-face methods using digitalized content and online platforms.

This research’s findings can be compared to the real-virtual divide concerned raised by Mintz ( 1998 ) more than 20 years ago when she argued that authentic museum educational experiences are only possible during a real physical visit. Mintz asserted that while media and advances in technology can be used to convey information, high-resolution photographs and links to online resources do not constitute a museum and cannot replicate the richness of real museum visits. Thus, Mintz concluded that a virtual museum experience is, at its essence, a media experience, not a museum experience. Since then, researchers and informal educators have often regarded virtual museum visits as secondary or surrogate experiences to physical ones, emphasizing the importance of having an unmediated experience with real objects in museums rather than a technology-mediated experience.

More recently, as technology has advanced and the global use of technology in daily life has been greatly expanded through smartphone and hand-held devices, Schweibenz ( 2012 ) offered that the real and virtual museum experiences are actually distinct entities. While emphasizing that a virtual visit could never substitute for visiting in person, Schweibenz noted that people have distinct motivations and expectations for visiting museums in person or online. People visit museums in person to see original objects; to learn and be entertained by exploring hands-on exhibits, particularly in science museums; to tour architectural buildings and galleries; and to have social interactions among family members and friends. A virtual visit cannot realize all of these motivations, despite the incredible advances in technology, including AR and VR components that have greatly improved the quality of virtual museum visits. However, the unprecedented global closures of museums caused by the pandemic have required museum educators to implement a wide range of digital content intended to, at least temporarily, substitute for real-world visits.

These circumstances have prompted museum educators to re-consider how to effectively balance physical assets with digitalization approaches. As in the case of the Vatican Museums, whose use of social media promotions to engage young people raised some concerns about whether the identity and integrity of the museums had been endangered as these young visitors appeared to be more were attracted by the influencers’ backgrounds than the museums’ artworks. Galani and Kidd ( 2020 ) contend that the pandemic affords the opportunity to examine the dialectical relationship that exists between the digital environment and the physical material. Their claim is that as museums have experienced digitalization shifts in lieu of physical material visits, new hybrid materiality has become conceivable within and through digital spaces. The SC educators continuously investigated the physical aspects that could be compatible with and accessible through digitalization. In real-time online classes, the educators conducted educational programs using commonplace objects or delivered sets of materials in advance, so students could physically access them. In addition, co-developed education programs provided learners with physical experiences by providing digital recordings of geopark docents explaining geological parks, while visitors accessed outdoor sites. In a paradoxical way, these attempts included physical characteristics in the digital environment, allowing the SC educators to develop a kind of hybrid materiality to afford visitors’ learning and active engagement. We hope to see more research focused on this development in informal science education contexts in future.

Forecasting the future of science museums

It is difficult to predict the future of science museum education or to suggest a common vision because each science museum is located in different cultures and contexts. Thus, we asked the educators to ponder the future of their institutions and describe their goals for long-lasting educational programs and cultural events. The SC educators forecast the future of science museum education in Korea as follows. First, science museum education will be diversified and will become more integrated. In the face of closures necessitated by the pandemic, SC educators tried and developed various digitalized content and actively utilized online platforms. In addition, they planned for the implementation of online-based education, expecting that a situation similar to the pandemic could happen if a different virus was to spread in future.

To be more responsive to change in future, SC administrators and educators devoted effort and re-allocated the budget to support the development and implementation of educational programs that could be flexible in any situation. They also sought to integrate digitalized content with exhibits and physical galleries as they continued to believe in the educational merits of the physical space and exhibits. Finally, the SC educators forecasted that science museum staff will continue to engage in sustainable collaboration through networking so that they will be able to secure more diverse resources to overcome future crises. Both the OECD and ICOM have been encouraging museums worldwide to serve as active agents to offer solutions in critical areas such as the Sustainable Development Goals and climate change education (Byun 2020 ). In this regard, ICOM has urged museums to build a variety of cooperative relationships and networks (ICOM 2019).

Kidman and Chang ( 2020 ) argued that “during times of crisis, how information is produced and consumed has an immense impact on society, economy, and education” (p. 107). We agree and believe that maintaining collaboration and networking is crucial for managing how the public can access information of importance from science museums during future crises. We hope that our research can support museum educators in other contexts to consider how they can develop and strengthen their own efforts to be in a position to be more responsive when future crises may once again globally disrupt formal and informal education systems. We can report positive evidence that this initiative is gaining some traction as it was recently announced that a network of Korean science museums has started a project to compile and arrange climate change-related teaching programs from more than 20 Korean science museums (Ministry of Science and ICT 2021 ). This kind of collaboration and networking offers informal science education researchers important research opportunities to identify the learning affordances offered and to consider the challenges for educators and visitors.

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This work was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2020K2A9A1A01096596).

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Lee, H., Kang, D.Y., Kim, M.J. et al. Navigating into the future of science museum education: focus on educators’ adaptation during COVID-19. Cult Stud of Sci Educ 18 , 647–667 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-022-10142-3

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Directions and Parking

Located in the heart of Midtown Detroit, our street address is 5020 John R. Street, Detroit, MI 48202

There is metered parking on the streets around MiSci. The Cultural Center lot and several Wayne State University parking structures are available. Prices and hours vary.

🚧 Heads up, Mi-Sci visitors! 🚧 Due to ongoing construction, parts of John R. Street are temporarily closed, and street parking may be limited. To access our parking lot, please use the exit off Farnsworth Street. 🅿️

As an alternative, we recommend parking at the Rackham Memorial Parking Garage, operated by Wayne State University. You can access the garage from Warren Ave. 🚗

Thank you for your understanding, and we can’t wait to see you at the Michigan Science Center!

Finding Your Way Around

Exploring Mi-Sci is easy. Although we have several levels that feature galleries with interactive exhibits, the entrances to the theaters, gift shop, restrooms and other guest amenities are all easily accessible from one level to the next.

Mi-Sci puts you at the center of science by making sure all our guests have a safe and comfortable visit. If you have any specific concerns, please give us a call at 313.577.8400 .

We believe science exploration should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their financial situation. Mi-Sci offers a variety of ways to save on admission. While we do encourage guests to reserve tickets through our website, some discounts are not available with website reservations. To ensure everyone has access, we hold a number of walk-up tickets in our inventory each day.

Have a group of 20 or more? Visit our  Group Visit  Information section!

The Science Store is a great resource for extending the learning and the fun! We offer lots of STEM-themed merchandise including t-shirts, science kits, thinking toys, puzzles and plush. The Science Store is conveniently located near the entrance and exit, but it is open only during Science Center hours.  

Proudly offering a wide variety of items curated to highlight every aspect of S.T.E.A.M. with an emphasis on sourcing from small or sustainability-focused vendors the Science store is the perfect stop for holiday shopping!

Open during Museum hours and does not require admission to shop.

Group Visit Information

We are here for you..

As we progress forward, together as a community, MiSci reminds everyone to continue practicing everyday preventive actions to help avoid illness. Learn more about what MiSci is doing to guests and employees safe.

In an effort to bring something new and immersive to you every day during this time, we have switched to a virtual presence as we work to safely open up the building for you, our MiSci family. Check out our ECHO Live program weekdays at 2:30 p.m. on our Facebook Page.

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Learning Resources

This site brings together resources from our museums, including activities, games and videos. discover activities to support a range of curriculum topics for use in the classroom, in museum galleries and beyond..

Browse all resources

Wonderlab+ is here!

Bring the Wonderlab experience home with exciting experiments, games and videos from the Science Museum Group.

Science Sparks and Maths Moments

Get ready for the new school year with a selection of science and maths resources to use in home learning or at school.

Climate resources and activities

Follow your curiosity to explore the relationship between the natural environment and humans.

Maths resources and activities

Build engagement with maths activities, 3D objects, image banks and object hunts.

Featured resources

Wonderlab: The Bramall Gallery introduction

This video shows highlights to look out for on your visit to Wonderlab: The Bramall Gallery at the National Railway Museum, York.

Computing activity trail

Explore how computing helps us and affects our everyday lives with these fun games and challenges.

Engineers Gallery – guide

A practical guide to help you explore the Science Museum's Engineers Gallery.

Who Am I? Gallery guide

A practical guide to help you explore the Science Museum's Who Am I? gallery.

• Climate Change
• Engineering

Plan a Field Trip

Explore, imagine, delight. Organize a Museum visit to enrich learning with exciting new exhibits and programs! By reserving a field trip, visitors agree to comply with the Museum’s full code of conduct .

School field trip reservations for the 2023 –   24 school year are now open!

Make a Reservation

Please review the helpful guide below for details around organizing a field trip.

Programs fill to capacity and there is a limit to daily school group admissions. Reservations must be made at least 24 hours in advance. Please note: school field trips and programs are not offered during Massachusetts holidays and school vacation periods.

Call Science Central at 617-723-2500 to make a reservation. We are available 7 days a week, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Field Trip Reservation Fees

The Museum has limited funding available for students who qualify for field trip assistance. Please inquire about this if there is a need.

Multiple visits: If you return with the same students, you receive 50% off Exhibit Halls admission. When making reservations, inform Science Central that you will be visiting more than once with your students.

Field Trip Rates are not available during MA school vacation weeks.

**The $5.00 Exhibit Halls admission during the months of September, October, and January is available for schools with a population of economically disadvantaged students at or above 25%.

Theater Shows

Fees vary for reserved field trip add-on programs. Receive a discount if you reserve a show along with Exhibit Halls Admission. All prices shown are per-person.

School rates are available to accredited public and private pre-K – 12 schools that deliver compulsory education (primary purpose is required by law), except during Massachusetts school holidays and vacation periods.

School rates are also available for schools with extended days (all children enrolled in the school are involved in extended school hours) or schools in session through the summer months. After-school groups or out-of-school programs are not eligible for the school group rates.

Cost Planning, Savings and Scholarships

Payment for your field trip is required upon arrival and must cover the full number of students, chaperones, and teachers in your reservation.

Accepted Payment Types

Purchase orders: Arrange at least five days in advance with Science Central. Any amount above the approved purchase order amount must be paid in person via cash, school check, or credit card.

Cash: Large bills are appreciated.

Checks: Must be made out to Museum of Science. No personal checks. Bring check with you the day of your visit — please do not mail.

Credit cards: MC, VISA, Discover, or AMEX

Payments not accepted for field trip participants

• family memberships
• overnight patches
• free passes
• discount coupons

Eligible schools can take advantage of special pricing for field trips available during these months. Exhibit Halls admission for students and chaperones is $5 per person. This discount is available for schools with a population of economically disadvantaged students above 25%.

Pair your discounted Exhibit Halls admission with an IMAX film for just $4 more. To find out if your school qualifies for any scholarships: 617-723-2500.

If you plan to return to the Museum with the same students, they may receive 50% off Exhibit Halls admission for the second visit. When making reservations, please inform Science Central that you will be visiting more than once with your group.

Reduced Exhibit Halls admission is available for qualifying schools. Please note that funding is limited and is distributed first come, first served.

Important: If your group size changes after you make your reservation, you must notify us by 4:00 pm on the day before your visit. Contact Science Central by phone: 617-723-2500, or email: [email protected].

There are no refunds for dropped numbers on the day of your visit. Additional participants above 5 per 100 will be charged regular Exhibit Halls admission. There are no same-day refunds if you reduce your number of participants by more than 5 per 100. Any additions are subject to availability and are not guaranteed entrance to IMAX films or other shows/programs.

Please notify Science Central in the event of a cancellation: 617-723-2500, [email protected].

• One chaperone per 10 students is required for grade levels pre-K – 8.
• One chaperone per 15 students is required for grade levels 9 – 12.
• Chaperones must stay with students at all times and are responsible for the safety of the students and the exhibits they visit.
• Chaperones must be at least 21 years old.
• Educators and chaperones should act as facilitators, encouraging inquiry, and assisting students in navigating Museum Exhibit Halls and programs safely and appropriately.
• Stay with pre-assigned chaperone-sized group at all times, regardless of the students' ages.
• Adhere to the code of conduct established by school systems and community centers. Behavior that is not acceptable at schools and community centers is not acceptable at the Museum of Science. Please note: the Museum is not responsible for lost, stolen, or damaged property.
• Sit together with students in venues such as the Mugar Omni Theater, Planetarium, 4-D Theater, and the Theater of Electricity.

Booking Details

There is no bus parking on Museum grounds except for drop-off and pickup. Buses may park at the Boston Autoport in Charlestown.

Chaperones and teachers may park cars in the Museum garage and will receive a $10 flat rate. In order to receive this discount, you must turn in your chaperone badge at the Information Desk at the end of your visit. Please note that credit or debit cards are the only form of payment accepted for garage transaction.

Field trip participants may either purchase lunches in the Riverview Café or bring bag lunches. NOTE: Due to space limitations in the café, you must reserve a 30-minute time slot for lunch when making your field trip reservation.

Pre-order meals are available for $7.25 per person.

Offered in the Riverview Café. Reserved seating, no hassles, and speedy service. Spend time enjoying your lunch instead of waiting in line.

We offer a choice of:

• Black Forest Ham and American Cheese on Sliced White Bread
• Roast Turkey and Cheddar Sub
• Chicken Caesar Salad
• Hummus and Fresh Cut Veggie Box
• Black Angus ¼ Cheeseburger
• Individual Brick Oven 3 Cheese Pizza

Available in any monetary amount. Purchase them through Science Central, 617-723-2500.

If you plan to eat your bag lunch in the Riverview Café, please note that seating is currently limited. You must reserve a lunch space and mealtime when you make your field trip reservation. Bins will be provided for the storage of your group’s coats, bags, backpacks, and lunches upon arrival. Please advise students not to bring or store valuable items; the Museum cannot assume responsibility for lost or damaged items.

Home School Information

Home school groups of at least nine visitors can make reservations over the phone and gain access to discounted school group pricing for teachers, chaperones, and students.

We encourage you to collaborate to form larger groups and set up a reservation. Call Science Central at 617-723-2500. Groups of fewer than nine should go to the Box Office where normal admission rates apply.

Frequent home school visitors will find Museum membership to be a better value than standard box office pricing. We offer several levels of membership, all of which include a variety of benefits such as IMAX and Planetarium passes, discounted parking, and admission to other science museums.

Learn about membership levels and benefits

Many public libraries throughout Massachusetts provide Museum of Science passes that allow up to four people per day to visit the Museum's Exhibit Halls at a significantly reduced rate.

These passes can be used for your home school visit. Contact your local library to find out if they participate and how to reserve your pass.

Drop-In Activities

Students can get hands-on science experience with our Drop-In Activities. Investigate human biology at the Biogen Foundation Exploration Hub or create like an engineer with Design Challenges in our Engineering Design Workshop!

To help us better accommodate your group during your field trip, please contact us to discuss planning a drop-in activity into your trip schedule.

For the Biogen Foundation Exploration Hub please email [email protected] . For Design Challenges please email [email protected] .

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Ready to Book Your Field Trip?

The 1928 Spillman Carousel is currently closed during our riverfront construction. It will reopen in the Spring of 2025.

GRPM Exhibits

Explore captivating exhibits at the Grand Rapids Public Museum, where history, science, and culture intertwine to provide an immersive and educational experience.

Traveling Exhibits

Building buddies, mandela: the official exhibition, core exhibits, 1928 spillman carousel, collecting a-z, streets of old grand rapids, 1928 mighty wurlitzer organ, fashion + nature, the furniture factory, newcomers: the people of this place, anishinabek: the people of this place, grand fish, grand river, west michigan habitats, seasonal exhibits, grpm holiday displays, historic lego® display, past exhibits, a celebration of souls: day of the dead in southern mexico, changing america, overcoming hateful things: stories from the jim crow museum of racist imagery, ralph w. hauenstein : a life of leadership, amazing pollinators, design zone, sean kenney's wild connections made with lego® bricks, bats: masters of the night, ice age & snow, the power of poison, bodies revealed, outbreak: epidemics in a connected world, pterosaurs: flight in the age of dinosaurs, under the arctic: digging into the permafrost, privacy overview, closure notice..

The Museum will be closed on Sunday, March 31 for the Easter Holiday. 

Carousel Update.

The Spillman Carousel is currently closed while we are undergoing riverfront construction. The Carousel will re-open Spring of 2025.

Carousel Update

• The History and Exploration of AMOS
• AMOS Hours & Admission
• Travel Fee Policy & Downtown Parking
• Employment Opportunities
• Volunteer & Internship Opportunities
• About Our Dinosaur
• AMOS in the News
• Our Community Impact
• Staff and Board of Directors
• Annual Fund & Donor Levels
• For Your Visit
• Timed Entry
• AMOS Museum Store
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• Science Themed Birthday Parties
• Women in STEM
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• Field Trips & Outreach Programs
• Chaperone Policy
• For Children & Families
• Museum Memberships
• MUSEUM BEAUTIFICATION

AMOS provides a number of different educational programs geared towards a broad age range. Below are brief descriptions of our educational offerings; please click on the titles for more information.

For further questions or more needed information please contact our education team: edu@ashevillescience.org

AMOS offers both in-house field trips and outreach programming for Pre-K-8th grade with programming that is aligned to the NC Essential Standards. If you are interested in scheduling your class or want to learn more please visit our Field Trip and Outreach pages.

Community Groups

Want to come as a large group to the museum? We have you covered! Whether you are an after-school group, a troop, or large family, AMOS offers large group discounts on weekdays for any group not partaking in an educational program.

STEM Workshops

AMOS proudly offers programming for all ages throughout the year from Robotics to holiday themed STEM workshops.  Our education team works hard to design fun and challenging programs that will engage children and learners of all ages!

Engage children in mini-camps year round or week-long summer camps! With topics that cover the range of STEAM themes including robotics, space, the maker movement and invention, AMOS has something for everyone!

After-School  

AMOS offers students meaningful STEM oriented curriculum! We believe in hands-on learning, and make most of our activities challenge-based; such as the marble run challenge where teams of students design and build a marble run to see who can get the longest time.

Science-Themed Birthday Parties

Have your next birthday party at the Asheville Museum of Science! With a wide range of science topics to choose from, make this year’s planning easy with an engaging and fun party hosted by us! The process to book is easy, we are always available to discuss planning. For additional information on birthday parties, please email: mhollinger@ashevillescience.org.

Directions: 43 Patton Ave. Asheville, NC 28801

Phone       (828) 254-7162 Email          info@ashevillescience.org

Participating member of the North Carolina Grassroots Science Museums collaborative with education funding by the North Carolina General Assembly.

• Calendar of Events

SCIENCE CIRCLE SUPPORTERS

Do you believe in the power of science and STEAM education to change and protect our world? Find out how you can help us spark the imagination of our next generation. Join our Science Circle.

©2024 Asheville Museum of Science. All rights reserved.

Students will explore in Science Museum summer camps

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - The Science Museum of Western Virginia is welcoming students to an educational and inspiring summer with a variety of camp programs.

Education Director Sherrié Bocock joined Here @ Home to talk about the variety of topics they will be covering starting this June.

There are seven week-long camp programs designed for children in kindergarten through second grade and students third through fifth grade.y.

Copyright 2024 WDBJ. All rights reserved.

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Where to buy last-minute solar eclipse glasses for April 8, 2024

The 2024 solar eclipse is just days away.

Let's make sure you're up to speed on eclipse glasses . Even good sunglasses aren't adequate protection; the sun's rays are too intense for the retina to handle and even looking at a partially obscured sun can cause permanent damage to your eyesight.

So whatever you do on Monday, do not look directly into the eclipse without acquiring proper eyewear. If you need a pair of eclipse glasses, here are some last-minute spots to check out.

Michigan retail chains with eclipse glasses

Your local retail chain could carry eclipse glasses. Michigan retail chains expected to carry solar eclipse glasses:

You'll also be able to find eclipse glasses on  Amazon  in bulk; just ensure they are approved before you buy them, and ensure you order them early enough so they arrive on time.

Detroit Public Library

Detroit Public Library is hosting viewing parties at each of its open branches, supplying eclipse glasses while supplies last.

Other libraries across Michigan

You may be able to find free eclipse glasses at your local public library in Michigan, along with special eclipse programs.

With help from Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Space Science Institute, The STAR Library Network was able to distribute 5 million solar eclipse glasses to  10,000 public libraries  across the country with assistance from Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Space Science Institute and STAR Net’s Solar Eclipse Activities for Libraries program. 

Check this map to see which Michigan libraries received eclipse glasses through this effort. You also should check with your local library to see if they have glasses regardless.

Michigan Science Center

Special glasses specifically for viewing a solar eclipse are available at the Mi-Sci gift shop , 5020 John R. St. in Detroit's Midtown, said Mi-Sci staff astronomer Paulette Epstein.

“The Michigan Science Center currently has eclipse glasses on sale for $2 per person,” she said. “So you can come to our store, and you don’t have to pay museum admission to go into the store, and get them. And solar eclipse glasses are also available with a ticket to the Ford House event that we’re hosting, as well.”

More info on that Ford House event here.

More: What time is the solar eclipse in Michigan? Search your ZIP code for a viewing guide.

Warby Parker eclipse glasses

Eyeglass company Warby Parker will provide free eclipse glasses at each of its Michigan stores while supplies last .

The chain has six stores in Michigan: Grand Rapids, Novi, Troy, Ann Arbor, Detroit and Birmingham.

• Dates available : Monday, April 1 through Monday, April 8 
• Quantity : 2 pairs of glasses/family
• Where : Warby Parker retail locations nationwide; find one  here .

American Astronomical Society eclipse glasses

The American Astronomical Society  has a list of approved solar-eclipse glasses suppliers  here . 

Build your own eclipse viewer

Want to watch the eclipse without glasses? You don't necessarily need special glasses or filters, but it takes a little creativity and a handful to household supplies to make your own pinhole box or pinhole projector, also known as a pinhole camera.

Here's  what to know, including step-by-step instructions , about building your own eclipse viewer.

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