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Partners Institutions

 

Australian Museum (Sydney)

As a leading scientific institution, the Australian Museum acknowledges climate change as a serious challenge of our times. Our scientists are engaged in rigorous peer-reviewed scientific research that contributes to knowledge about climate change. We also conduct significant research concerning education, communication, and curatorial practices about climate change science. For example, we are partners on the ARC Linkage Project “Hot Science Global Citizens: the Agency of the Museum Sector in Climate Change Interventions”. By participating in this project we are carrying out a commitment to reflect on our own institutional practices and the way in our exhibits and programs can best communicate and engage the public on the cutting edge of climate change science. In December 7-10, 2009 the Museum hosted a “Hot Science Global Citizens ” workshop that brought together the research project investigators to share their research findings about communicating climate change, as well as the opportunity to critically discuss our own climate change exhibition, “The Climate Change: our future, our choice” (May - August 2009) with the project researchers.

The Australian Museum website on climate change

The Australian Museum policy on climate change

 

Powerhouse Museum (Sydney)

The Powerhouse Museum, Sydney is dedicated to conceiving exhibitions and programs that demonstrate human ingenuity through ideas and technology. As a 21st century museum, the PHM has extended its vision to include engagement with contemporary technologies and industries, including developments in science and ecologically sustainable technologies. We are partner members on the ARC Linkage Research Project, “Hot Science, Global Citizens: the Agency of the Museum Sector on Climate Change Interventions” (2007-2010) and as a result will be reflecting on our institutional practices and contributions to the issue of climate change. We see the contribution of our museum on this issue through exhibitions, outreach, and sustainable practice. Currently we are in the process of updating and reviewing our permanent exhibition on sustainability in order to emphasize climate change science and adaptation. We will be producing a new exhibit “Ecologic”, sponsored by Sydney Water on sustainability issues. We plan to build a community garden in our museum in order to provide a space for reflection on urban environmental sustainable architecture and engagement. We will are also undertaking to install a co-generator plant to supply our own electricity and demonstrate how such plants might be used to redistribute surplus back into the electricity grid as part of our forthcoming exhibit on renewable energy practices.

Powerhouse Museum, climate change blog “Free Radicals”

 

Museum Victoria (Melbourne)

Museum Victoria cares for and organizes the state of Victoria's scientific and cultural collections, providing visitor access, activities and events at four distinct venues: Melbourne Museum, Immigration Museum, Scienceworks and the Royal Exhibition Building. Museum Victoria regularly engages in research and hosts exhibitions related to climate change issues, such recently, ‘Climate change and whale evolution’ (September 30, 2009-), and ‘Drought Risk and Rural Hazard: Rethinking the Australian Climate’, and ‘Waters of Tuvalu” (Immigration Museum site, 2008). The staff of Museum Victoria have established their own committee for Climate Change matters and carbon footprint monitoring. Staff members have presented at “Hot Science Global Citizens” workshops and forums, and actively participated in the gathering of data for the Hot Science Global Citizens project.

Museum Victoria Climate Change Challenges

 

Questacon (Canberra)

 

Questacon is Australia’s national science and technology centre that plays a major role in promoting an understanding and awareness of science and technology in the community. In 2007, Questacon launched Project IGLO (International Action on GLObal warming) in the Asia-Pacific region to promote awareness of how climate change impacts on local and polar regions. Questacon regularly includes a climate change component in its science outreach programs. For example, the Shell Questacon Science Circus includes a module on “Climate, Human and Global Change” and the Questacon Science Squad performs “The Climate Change Show”. Questacon is also a partner in the ARC Research Linkage Project, “Hot Science Global Citizens” (2007-2010), which focuses on how museums and science centres portray climate science.

Questacon educational materials relating to climate change

 

 

Liberty Science Center (Jersey City, USA)

Liberty Science Centre is one of the leading US science centres, dedicated to interactive education about science. LSC includes education about environmental matters in its outreach program, as evident on its green education wiki website. LSC is a partner investigator on the Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Project, “Hot Science Global Citizens” (2007-2010) which is providing knowledge about how museums and science centres can best communicate and engage with the issue of climate change science. Liberty Science Center is approaching this subject from a unique perspective. LSC is planning a series of exhibition in the coming years but know non specifically on climate change. Rather, what will occur is a pervasive inclusion of climate change in each of the subject. Therefore exhibitions such as Cooking, Energy, the NY/NJ Port and others all will include how climate change is connected to the topics and relevant to a visitor’s daily life. In addition educational program that touch on the environment and climate change will also be conducted. What some may not realize was that the Hot Science Global Citizens program was the result of an original presentation at the World Science Centre Congress in 2005 in Rio de Janeiro, chaired by Wayne LaBar at LSC and with Fiona Cameron as one of its the speakers.

Liberty Science Centre (New Jersey) maintains a resource page on green education:

http://www.lsc.org/green/index.php/Tipping_point_for_ecological_disaster

http://www.lsc.org/green/index.php/Green_Education