(Reposted from August 29, 2011)

So, I was listening to this science program on public radio last weekend and the social scientist being interviewed mentioned that technology development has always preceded science discovery. Having missed that concept in my science classes, I went Web surfing to determine if conventional wisdom supports this concept. The short answer: obviously the two are related and there are many examples to argue cause and effect in either direction.

However, during my search I ran across an interesting article titled “Quizzing Students on the Myths of Science,” posted by the National Science Teachers Association at: science.nsta.org/enewsletter/2006-07/tst0411_58.pdf

In the article, the two authors, Eugene Chiapetta and Thomas Koballa, present a quiz of 12 questions designed to spark some introspection about how we’ve come to see the nature of science.  Take the test and see how you do on it!

What does this have to do with exhibits?  We make underlying assumptions based on what we learned or remember when we design an exhibit. In exhibits for science audiences or about science, we draw on what we think is “scientific.” How we write our text or scripts, the learning objectives of our interactives, even the choices of exhibit subjects, all depend on a personal understanding of words and concepts such as “theory,” objectivity,” “cause-and-effect” relationships and the “scientific method.” How you answer the questions and the “arguments” you use to defend your answers may give you some insight into why YOU think an exhibit is interesting…or why it would be interesting to a visitor or guest.