Development of a Program Framework Responding to Global Issues in the Science Museum Setting

Science literacy is vital if people are to properly respond to the problems concerning science and technology they face in everyday social life. Although schools are still required to play a basic role in the process, the lifelong fostering of science literacy should be conducted by diverse bodies that include: lifelong learning organizations such as science museums; a variety of media, businesses and non-profit organizations and local communities and households.  To realize a society in which people can enjoy happiness throughout their lifetime, science museums are required to perform the social roles of contributing to foster science literacy and to raise the degree of maturity of the science culture.  For the effective development of the above, new methods and ideas such as educational programs for each generation of people are required. In order to meet this objective, we developed the “Continuous Educational Program Framework to Foster Science Literacy.”  This is composed of a continuous learning system that sought to foster science literacy at every stage in the life of each generation, focusing on the issues in the natural world and human society.  It not only develops and improves the knowledge and attitudes towards science and technology at every stage of each generation, but also enables each individual to recognize their own development. In addition, through communications between science museums and society, society is encouraged to support such developments. The framework consists of five generations and four goals. It will assist diverse science museums to develop educational programs that foster science literacy thinking in people spanning five generations, from preschoolers to senior citizens. It would foster four goals: cultivation of sensitivity, attainment of knowledge and understanding of concepts, fostering of the habit to think scientifically, and development of the ability to properly respond to circumstances in society. We have developed several programs based on the framework. In developing those programs, we have set the major theme of “Our Life and Us” and sub-themes that consider the global issues we are facing which include water, food, and energy.  We developed four programs within each sub theme. Despite the management of museums facing difficult circumstances in Japan, science museums are expected to devise a framework to foster science literacy in order to contribute to the building of a knowledge–based society whose people can live in prosperity within a mature science culture.  Local science museums are expected to promote school education and lifelong learning at every stage in each generation by referring to this framework.  The current key consideration is the dissemination of the information about our program framework.  It is therefore vital to build a network of science museums that will share this framework and share programs using information communications technology.