This workshop is organised by the Ecsite thematic group dedicated to building a community for all staff who deliver learning experiences within a museum, the Facilitation Group. The workshop is open to all, join!

As our museums and science centres continue to evolve, so too must the roles and responsibilities of those who work within them. In order to craft deeper and more meaningful experiences with our visitors and understand the impacts these may have, our facilitators need to become savvy consumers and creators of learning research.

In our two-day pre-conference we will explore the notion of the research-informed facilitator. We will suggest an alternative way to view the traditional facilitator, as well as look at new research findings and practical techniques associated with facilitation. Our international experts will present the key issues faced by merging the worlds of research and practice, and introduce discussions on what this means for museum and science centres. Time will be dedicated for capturing participants’ responses and ideas, with ‘views from the floor’ forming a key part of the discussion. Finally, part of the pre-conference will also be organised with Ecsite’s Research and Evaluation Group (REV). We will work together on the value of the research-informed facilitator, merging our communities of practice.

A detailed programme is available here.

Caution: this workshop takes place at the Hall of Biodiversity - Porto Botanial Garden on Tuesday 13 June and then at the Alfândega Congress Centre on Wednesday 14 June.