Rethinking museum/community partnerships: Science and natural history museums and the challenges of communicating climate change

Abstract

This chapter explores changing relations between communities and science and natural history museums in the United States. Using the case of climate change, I highlight some of the communication challenges faced as museums negotiate new roles in light of the needs of funders and public audiences. Museums have long traded on their role as a non-biased source for authoritative information, but recent efforts at climate change education in museums can be used to pinpoint some of the complex factors surrounding communication and messaging in museum work. The chapter explores the institutional frameworks that shape how climate change education has been communicated in museum settings and suggests a rethinking of museum work as networked and community-focused.