Natural history: make a difference in local and global debates
Find this session's presentations here.
Natural history offers insights that can help us address many of the local and global challenges we face today, for example food security, environmental degradation or biodiversity loss. Those of us who come from natural history institutions realise this, but in spite of our efforts, natural history plays an increasingly marginalised role in the public perception of science.
Here, we discuss the relevance of natural history for all science education efforts (in science centres, zoos, aquaria, natural history museums, science and industry museums etc.) on the basis of its particular forms of reasoning, objects, and ways of knowing. We argue that science education efforts that include natural history perspectives can significantly contribute to public understanding of the many-faceted nature of science, and discuss the importance of natural history for equipping the public with knowledge to support and enable local decision-making, thereby promoting social justice. And finally, we offer examples of the ways in which museums and their collections act as major players in contemporary debates facing communities across Europe.
Facilitator
Skoletjenesten, Knowlegde center for out-of-school learning
Session speakers
Reader in Science Education
Heather will engage the participants in a discussion of the important role of natural history to help address the wicked problems we face as a society. Specifically, Heather will argue how natural history education has the potential to provide the public with the knowledge they need to make informed civic decisions about local and global issues. Such initiatives not only support and promote social justice, they also contribute to the continued legitimacy of natural history museums in relation to the society that surrounds them.
Department of Science Education, University of Copenhagen
Marianne will discuss how natural history can help the public understand the complex nature of science. Far from being obsolete, natural history embodies many cross-cutting scientific practices that are more relevant today than ever. Marianne will point out how natural history has systematically been left out of public discussions of the natural sciences, and call for its reinstatement due to the important contributions it can make.
Head of Communications & PR
Antonia will describe examples in which natural history collections and natural history expertise have been used to address and resolve environmental issues within local communities. From the reintroduction of wolves into their traditional habitats, to the effective management of floodplains, Antonia will highlight the role that natural history museums can play in providing the foundational knowledge that is vital for so many aspects of our lives.
Jacques will share examples of how the Natural History Museum of Geneva has been working with local and national communities to place knowledge of the natural world and its diversity at the heart of society and its development. For instance in generating and disseminating new knowledge and ways of thinking, the Museum has become a key scientific and cultural player and an important contributor to ongoing efforts aiming to tackle the environmental challenges of tomorrow.
