STEM
How the Science Museum Group engages children with science
“Science engagement is at the heart of
what we do, and the science capital
approach has provided research-based
insight to enable us to maximise the
value our learning experiences,” explains
Beth Hawkins, academy manager at the
Science Museum Group. “Every moment in
our museums is an opportunity to shape
people’s attitudes towards science.”
She explains that adopting the new
approach required buy-in from the whole
organisation and “couldn’t be an isolated
project that was simply voiced by the
learning department. We wanted all our
• the verbal and visual language used in communication and
everyday interaction
• how the museum values and builds on people’s existing STEM
content knowledge and experiences
• helping people to recognise the application and relevance of
science in their everyday lives
These were applied to the delivery and
development of the museum’s work and
are central to all learning experiences for
schools and families.
“We used them to shape the
development of hands-on classroom
activities,” explains Hawkins. “These have
always been popular, but when we looked
at them using a science capital approach,
RESOURCES:
Download the Science Capital
Teaching Approach pack for teachers:
ucl.ac.uk/ioe/sites/ioe/files/the-
science-capital-teaching-approach-
pack-for-teachers.pdf
staff to feel empowered and motivated
to use it.”
To help all staff think critically about
everyday practice, reflection points
around science engagement were drawn
from the science capital research and
wider best practice. For example:
• widening perceptions of who uses science in their work
• helping everyone feel confident to contribute in activities/
experiences
• promoting thinking and talking about science
• how to extend the experience in and beyond the museums
we could see they weren’t helping people
make a personal connection to the
experience. So we made changes.”
Alongside ensuring that instructions
were easy to follow using step-by-step
photos, the museum highlighted the skills
being used in each activity and added
background information and links to
science in everyday life, plus ideas for
Science stops
being
something
done to them
and becomes
something
they do
because it's
part of who
they are
further investigation to promote science
talk and extend the experience.
“For example, the original text for our
Icy Bodies exhibit in the Wonderlab
gallery mentioned how dry ice was used
for special effects at the theatre. We
changed the example to the cinema to
help a wider audience make that
connection,” says Hawkins.
describe themselves as “sciency” and behave
better during science lessons.
“One of the reasons BP funded this work
was to create a robust evidence base, to take
it away from just being anecdotal opinion,
which it has been for decades,” says Duffy.
Funding for primary schools
Ultimately, Enterprising Science attempts to
make STEM a more viable and attractive option
for all students, especially those from under-
represented communities, where science
capital is especially low. The team’s pre- and
post-initiative surveys show that the work does
indeed make a difference, to both teachers
and students.
Archer has received funding to establish an
equivalent project in primary schools from
September this year, and is working
with primary school teachers to create a
new handbook.
“There’s no cultural norm or expectation
for groups who haven’t engaged with STEM
traditionally to do anything different; that’s not
good enough,” asserts Duffy.
“I hadn’t seen anything over these years
that actually had the potential to make a
difference until the Science Capital Teaching
Approach,” he concludes.
FUTURE TALENTED // 45