March/April 2006
IN THIS ISSUE
With so many museum and science-related publications addressing the intelligent design/evolution controversy, what can ASTC’s journal contribute to the conversation? Perhaps we can best draw some lessons from our own failure to communicate. Although the science of evolution is not in question, public understanding certainly falls short. In this issue, we examine why that might be, and what science centers and museums can do about it—surveying visitors’ attitudes vis-a-vis those of the public at large, to focusing on staff training, to creating effective exhibits and programming, to opening the floor to community discussion. As Martin Weiss observes in his lead article, “We have the tools, the audience, and their respect: we just need the will.”
CONTENTS
• Beyond the Evolution Battle: Addressing Public Misunderstanding, by Martin Weiss
• In Darwin’s Footsteps: the Man and His Journey, by Carolyn Sutterfield
• Evolution, Creationism, and Intelligent Design: A Natural History Museum’s Experience, by Warren D. Allmon
• What They Bring with Them: Visitors’ Perspectives on Evolution, by Martin Storksdieck and Jill Stein
• Unfiltered and Unbiased: Discussing Evolution in St. Louis, by Terry Holekamp
• Intuition and Understanding: How Children Develop Evolution Concepts, by E. Margaret Evans
• Living Evolution: A Passion for Science Communication, by Gail Jennes
• Evolution Resources
• Science as a World View, or, Can Science Explain Everything?, by Gretchen Jennings
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