The practice of showing 'who I am': A multimodal analysis of encounters between science communicator and visitors at science museum

Abstract

In this paper, we try to contribute to the design of future technologies used in science museums where there is no explicit, pre-determined relationship regarding knowledge between Science Communicators (SCs) and visitors. We illustrate the practice of interaction between them, especially focusing on social encounter. Starting in October 2012, we conducted a field study at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (Miraikan) in Japan. Based on multimodal analysis, we examine various activities, focusing on how expert SCs communicate about science: how they begin interactions with visitors, how they maintain them, and how they conclude them. © 2014 Springer International Publishing.